CZ Hong Kong AMA: Young people should not aim for overnight riches.

In the offline AMA for Binance Life book club members in Hong Kong on August 28th, Binance founder CZ discussed topics such as investment decisions, risk control, RWA, Hong Kong regulations, entrepreneurship, education, and personal wealth philosophy. When discussing how to decide whether to persist or give up, CZ proposed categorizing decisions according to "large or small, reversible or irreversible": most small, reversible decisions should be executed quickly and continuously adjusted, while large, irreversible decisions should be minimized and handled cautiously. He also emphasized that ethics and user protection are fundamental principles that do not require repeated weighing; investment and trading should not only focus on expected returns, but more importantly, avoid losses that cannot be tolerated from a single failure.

Regarding investment, CZ repeatedly opposed blindly going all in.

He stated that his early heavy investment in Bitcoin was based on the premise that even if Bitcoin went to zero, his family's life would not be fundamentally affected. Therefore, ordinary investors, especially, should not borrow money to heavily invest. Young people's advantage is time; they can reduce living costs, bear moderate risks, and accumulate wealth over the long term, rather than pursuing "get rich overnight." Regarding project investment, he believes that ultimately, it depends on the team, especially their technical capabilities, understanding of users, resilience, long-term mindset, and sense of mission. He also stated that bear markets are more likely to filter out entrepreneurs who are truly willing to stay in the crypto industry long-term. Regarding industry trends, CZ reiterated his optimism about RWA and asset tokenization. He believes that stocks may be the first to be tokenized on a large scale, followed by stablecoins and on-chain foreign exchange trading. In the long term, assets such as art, intellectual property, and real estate may also gradually be tokenized. Regarding Binance and the BNB ecosystem, he stated that the ecosystem doesn't necessarily create trends proactively, but rather tends to follow market trends based on real data. Currently, RWA is a significant growth area, and its issuance is better suited to be handled by institutions familiar with securities regulations in various regions, with exchanges, public chains, DEXs, and wallets providing liquidity and ecosystem support. Speaking of Hong Kong, CZ believes that Hong Kong possesses a mature financial system, which is both an advantage and means that regulatory adjustments will inevitably be more cautious. Regulatory changes need to consider existing financial institutions such as banks and securities firms, as well as the potential impact of Hong Kong policies on the mainland. They also involve issues such as RMB internationalization, capital flows, and foreign exchange controls. Therefore, the advancement of related systems is often measured in "years" rather than "days or hours" for startups. He believes that Hong Kong regulators are still actively promoting industry development, but the problems they face are far more complex than simply opening up crypto trading. CZ also discussed the education project Giggle Academy, stating that its user base has grown to approximately 1.3 million, with the goal of reaching tens or even hundreds of millions of users in the future. He believes that AI will continue to transform education, ultimately leading to personalized one-on-one teaching for each individual, while traditional standardized education tends to produce "average" students. Regarding entrepreneurship, he emphasized that one should not blindly enter an industry simply because it is popular, but rather seek the intersection of "what one is good at, what one is interested in, and what is valuable," and only consider large-scale investment after verifying product-market fit. In terms of personal experience and life, CZ stated that one of the most stressful periods during Binance's founding was the initial price drop of BNB after its listing, and the subsequent handling of US regulatory issues. He believes that wealth and happiness are not directly related. What truly influences one's quality of life is, first and foremost, health, followed by family and high-quality interpersonal relationships. If one constantly seeks satisfaction by comparing oneself to others or adding zeros to one's wealth, even with increased assets, it's difficult to achieve long-term happiness. How to determine whether to persist or give up: Distinguishing between the magnitude and reversibility of decisions. Question: While reading, we saw many highlights and dramatic moments, as well as choices made amidst great uncertainty. As practitioners, we would like to ask how to distinguish between persisting and giving up in our industry? CZ: There are two parts to this: one is how to choose and make decisions, and the other is what to give up and what not to give up. These two can be considered separately. Regarding decision-making, I have a very simple model. You first need to determine whether a decision is a major or minor decision, and simultaneously determine whether it is reversible or irreversible. Over 90% of decisions are actually minor and reversible, and these decisions can be made quickly. However, after making a decision, you can't just follow one path indefinitely; you need to constantly reassess whether to change it today. For example, six months ago, I was quite skeptical of RWA, but a few months later, its momentum picked up, and at that point, we could support it, with the entire ecosystem supporting it—YZi Labs investing and supporting it, and BNB Chain also supporting it. This is a reversible decision; you can continuously re-evaluate it. Try to avoid making large, irreversible decisions. In such cases, slow down, consider carefully, and minimize these decisions. Another type is large but reversible decisions; while these can be reversed, the cost of reversal is high, so these should also be minimized. Making decisions doesn't affect your adherence to them. A person should have their own basic principles, such as a fundamental moral bottom line. For us, we will not do anything that harms users; this is our principle and bottom line. If a decision conflicts with this principle, then the decision is essentially made; it's a decision that doesn't require further consideration. The remaining questions, such as whether to stay in this industry or whether to transform the product, are mostly medium-sized decisions and reversible. Products can be transformed, functions can be adjusted, and entrepreneurial directions and trading strategies can all be adjusted. Furthermore, in trading, risk control is paramount. A typical example is that, mathematically speaking, you can't keep doing a business that's profitable every time. For instance, if you flip a coin and I give you three dollars if you win and I give you one dollar if you lose, mathematically, this game is advantageous to you, and you can keep playing. But if it's changed to "If you win, I give you three times my entire fortune; if you lose, I give you my entire fortune," then you can't play this game. Because even if you've won ten times before, just one loss will wipe you out. Therefore, risk control shouldn't just focus on the ROI of making money, but rather on whether you can withstand the risk. Which countries opening up to cryptocurrencies would have a greater impact? Question: Since 2022, you've been communicating with and promoting cryptocurrencies to leaders of many countries. Which countries do you think currently haven't opened up to cryptocurrencies, if they do in the future, would have a significant positive impact on the entire industry? If we limit the scope to Southeast Asia, which country do you think has the most potential? CZ: We all know there's a very large country that, if it opens up, would have a huge positive impact. However, I think we should proceed gradually. Many countries believe that cryptocurrencies may threaten their sovereign currencies, but this is a misconception. If each country has its own stablecoin, it will actually allow its sovereign currency to circulate more widely globally. Therefore, this is a stage where we need to spend time educating, influencing, and communicating gradually. Furthermore, many people still have some fear of cryptocurrencies. I originally thought this industry might follow a "rural-to-urban" approach, first bringing in all the small countries, and then gradually influencing larger countries. Unexpectedly, the US has suddenly become so friendly, which is actually a major positive for cryptocurrencies. Therefore, the influence of large countries is definitely greater, while the influence of small countries is relatively smaller, but many small countries combined are still significant. Many Southeast Asian countries have made rapid progress, such as Thailand and the Philippines. The Philippines now has a Binance license, and fiat currency channels should be open, no longer entirely reliant on P2P; banks can directly transfer money. Malaysia may be slightly slower, but progress in many areas is quite fast, so I remain optimistic. The CZ Principles are not a startup guide, nor are they necessarily suitable for everyone. Question: The appendix at the end of the book contains a continuously updated "CZ Principles," with the book version updated to seventy-two principles. The book has been finished for quite some time; has there been a seventy-third principle recently? CZ: No. Actually, there was a newer version that slightly adjusted the numbering system and resuming many principles. The book uses the previous version. A new version was already available when it was published, but I felt the older version might be more suitable for this book. To be honest, I didn't really want to include those principles. Many people told me while writing the book that I could also write down my entrepreneurial principles or methods so that everyone would know how to start a business. But I felt that writing these things down would make it seem like a tutorial, and putting them together with my own experiences wasn't particularly good; it would make me feel a bit arrogant. I actually think that if the book ended with the last sentence, "If you can, you must," it might be better. After adding the principles, the later parts became much longer. Also, these principles are just my own way of doing things; they may not be the best way. I wrote these principles primarily to help people within the company understand my decision-making and thought processes, so they could align their decisions with mine. However, for those outside the company, it's not necessary to follow these methods, nor can it be said that these methods are the best. I also have many stubborn aspects in my work, and many things I haven't fully considered. So, just take a look at this section on principles; don't overthink it. Of course, I hope some parts will be helpful to you. Giggle Academy User Growth and Long-Term Education Goals Question: I saw your free education project, Giggle Academy, in the book. Based on the current growth momentum, when will you expect to reach the goal of ten million students? CZ: I'm hesitant to give a precise estimate, but I can give you some figures. Last June, there were only about 20,000 to 30,000 users; at the beginning of this year, there were about 100,000; and now, around the middle of the year, there are approximately 1.3 million. So it's experiencing exponential growth. Following this trend, reaching 10 million should be quite fast, possibly within one or two years, but I can't guarantee it. I think two or three years is more likely. However, there's an even more important metric here: continuous usage time. I hope a child can use it for 18 years, but that goal is currently a bit difficult. Many children stop playing after a while. This is partly due to the app's stickiness, and partly because our content isn't rich enough. We currently primarily cover children aged two to six, as around two years old is the stage where children begin to learn. However, the ways to attract children aged two to six are different from those aged six to ten, and we haven't truly perfected the content for the second stage yet. Additionally, it's not good for children to stare at electronic devices for extended periods. Therefore, I think we should be able to reach ten million users in two or three years. Further down the line, one hundred million users should be a small goal for us—it's about user volume, not money. Entering Web3 for Traditional Businesses: The Most Important Thing is Controlling the Scale of Investment Question: I have served 100,000 traditional businesses. As a traditional business, how should we avoid risks in the Web3 field? What are the pitfalls? How can we better participate in Web3 in the future, especially to achieve development within the Binance ecosystem? CZ: Any new industry, especially the financial industry, will have many pitfalls, so the first thing is risk control. The most important aspect of risk control is actually scale, that is, the scale of your investment. For new products, new projects, and new directions, don't put in too much money all at once; adapt gradually. When you really need to invest a large sum of money, you must be very certain because it's a big decision. Smaller decisions can be made relatively more easily. For traditional enterprises, Binance actually has many functions that can be used. For example, Binance Pay can be used for cross-border payments, which is a very low-cost payment channel. Binance has always been defined as a trading application, so many people don't know it can also be used for cross-border payments. Its operation might not be intuitive, but if you know how to use it, the cost is very low and the efficiency is very high. Additionally, I know many users only use the wealth management function for asset allocation. But I myself am only a light Binance user, not an advanced user; many people here probably know more about Binance products than I do. The Two Most Stressful Phases in Binance's Nine Years of Development Question: During the nine years of Binance's development, when were you at your most desperate? And what supported you through it all? CZ: Everyone's definition of "despair" might be different. I don't think I've ever felt particularly desperate; I've always had hope. I have a relatively optimistic personality, strong resilience, and can withstand pressure. If I had to pick the most stressful time, I'd say it was when Binance first launched. The main issue was BNB's price drop. Before that, many projects performed very well after launching, but after BNB's price dropped, the tens of thousands of investors who invested in us all lost money. That was the most psychologically stressful time; those two weeks were probably the most stressful period. Also, dealing with things in the US the year before last was definitely stressful, but that pressure was more personal. Because I didn't feel like I had wronged anyone; it was my own business, and I handled it myself. Whether it's to all Binance users, BNB holders, or the entire industry, I feel I've done right by them. So, the situation in the US put a lot of pressure on me personally, but the psychological pressure wasn't as great as when it first launched and BNB's price dropped below its initial offering price. Those were roughly the two phases. Should crypto professionals actively pursue influence? Question: We see many people in the crypto world using their influence to gain substantial wealth. Do you think crypto professionals should actively and publicly pursue influence? How should they cultivate and utilize their influence? CZ: This is a rather tricky question; there's no absolutely right answer. Everyone has a different style. I think many old Chinese proverbs still hold true, such as "the nail that sticks out gets hammered down." From this perspective, if you have the ability to quietly amass wealth, then I strongly encourage you to do so. Look at Satoshi Nakamoto. If people knew who he was today, many things would likely be directed at him first, so he was very clever. However, on the other hand, building influence is also a way to create wealth, and many projects would be difficult to succeed without any influence. Having influence often makes it easier to create wealth. So there are trade-offs involved; there's no absolute right or wrong, and everyone has to find their own balance. Stocks, stablecoins, FX, and more real-world assets will eventually be on-chain. Question: Recently, we've seen FX and stocks starting to be on-chain. Will this further develop into various forms of capital and assets being on-chain in the future? CZ: I think it definitely will. I've said it many times, and I think one very obvious thing in the future is that stocks will be on-chain first. After stocks are on the blockchain, why wouldn't any country want its stocks to be on the blockchain? As a company listed on your exchange, why should only people from your country be able to buy my stocks? Why can't people all over the world buy them? If people all over the world can buy them, the price might be higher, and the liquidity would be better. After stocks are on the blockchain, the next question is whether currencies should be on the blockchain, which leads to stablecoins. Currently, over 90% of the hundreds of billions of dollars worth of stablecoins are pegged to the US dollar, which effectively increases the global liquidity of the US dollar in the digital currency world significantly. So why wouldn't other countries want their currencies to circulate in the future of Web3? After stablecoins are on-chain, FX will naturally be traded on-chain as well. Currently, forex trading is not transparent; much of it still relies on systems like Bloomberg and Reuters, using RFQ and other methods. Once on-chain, it will become 24/7, with transparent pricing. Further down the line, assets such as art, cultural property rights, and real estate can also be on-chain. Of course, it will be more difficult to on-chain these assets because liquidity isn't as good, but I think eventually all of these things will be on-chain. Young people shouldn't make getting rich overnight their goal. Question: Many people experience a period of sudden wealth, while others experience losing everything overnight. How did you overcome your restlessness when you suddenly became rich? How did you control your mindset when experiencing a low point in your life? CZ: It's about mindset, personality, and also a system and maturity that you gradually cultivate. Everyone hopes to get rich overnight, but it's not a healthy thing. There's a Chinese saying, "What comes quickly goes quickly." Getting rich overnight often means taking very high risks, and the faster the money comes, the harder it is to hold onto. A better way is to accumulate wealth slowly. What you gain this way is easier to hold onto, and your mindset will be more stable. If you've already become rich overnight, try to hold onto it and not lose it all in one night. Risk control is still very important. Especially in a market with wildly fluctuating prices, never gamble everything. What can make you rich overnight can also wipe you out overnight. Therefore, if you really want to participate in such high-risk opportunities, you should break it down into many small decisions and small positions. Of course, if all decisions are small, the average amount won't be enough to make you rich overnight. I strongly advise against young people thinking about getting rich overnight. A young person's greatest asset is time; you have plenty of time to accumulate wealth slowly. For example, investing a few hundred or a thousand yuan in Bitcoin every month now could yield completely different results in ten years. Young people are often impatient, but they actually need to be the least impatient because time is on their side. Newcomers to Blockchain: Enter the Community First, Then Judge the Authenticity of Projects Question: Blockchain is moving from distributed ledgers to broader decentralization and verifiable productivity. Will this trigger a new revolution in the industry? How should newcomers participate? CZ: Anything, any concept, could become the next hot topic, or it might not. It's hard to predict. I really can't tell what the hot topics will be six months from now. However, participating in the blockchain industry is actually quite easy; it's probably one of the easiest sectors I know to enter. It's also easy to encounter many scammers, so the first thing to do is avoid participating in fraudulent projects. Most projects allow you to buy their tokens very early on, but I think you should delve into their community before buying any tokens. First, see if the project truly has a community. If a project has absolutely no community, it's unlikely to succeed. If it does have a community, you need to determine if it's genuine, comprised of real active users, or just a bunch of shills. For newcomers, I still think risk control is paramount. But in terms of "participation" itself, blockchain projects should theoretically be relatively easy to get involved in. CZ's Perspective on Project Success and Failure: The Core Factor is People. Question: You've invested in many projects, and the Binance ecosystem has incubated many projects. From your perspective, what is the most crucial factor in the success or failure of these projects? CZ: From my perspective, the core factor is still people. No matter how advanced AI is, in the end, it still comes down to people. There are many aspects to considering people. First, is their technical ability strong? But you can find many people with strong technical abilities. There are also many people who can create products and create good products. They also need high emotional intelligence to understand users. But I think what's truly rare is resilience. Can this person keep going even in extremely difficult times? You can't tell this just by talking to them; you have to work with them to find out. Secondly, mindset. In our industry, a person's mindset is extremely important. A positive mindset makes it easier to earn money steadily in the long run and to go further. Another factor is the strength of their sense of mission. Recently, many people have gone into AI, so those who remain in blockchain generally have a stronger sense of mission. It's hard to distinguish during a bull market because everyone is working on projects, and each project has a high valuation. It's difficult to judge who truly wants to do something long-term and who is just in to make a quick buck. Actually, I quite like it when people who want to make quick money go to AI. Those who stay and continue working on blockchain are more likely to be the ones who can hold their ground. Moreover, if we're just talking about making money, I think our industry is probably easier. We're in the "money industry," while AI is in the data and intelligence industry. AI can improve efficiency, but it's highly centralized. If you're not the founder of one of those big companies, or can't build a very large company, it's actually quite difficult to make a lot of money. Therefore, the most important thing in our industry is to have a stable mindset. Should You Go All In: Think Carefully About What to Do If It Goes to Zero? Question: You invested your savings and time in Bitcoin back then, which had a strong "all-in" mentality. Should young people today, who continue to participate in the crypto industry, also have an "all-in" or "win big" mentality? Are there similar opportunities in the future? CZ: For the vast majority of people, I strongly advise against going all in. At any time, especially in financial investment, if you are preparing to go all in, you must first know: what will you do if this thing goes to zero? If you cannot answer this question, or if you are not satisfied with your answer, then don't go all in. When I went all in, I was already in my mid-thirties, not a recent college graduate. And I had a very clear understanding of the situation. Even if Bitcoin went to zero, my family and children's lives wouldn't be significantly affected; I could continue working and earning money. My salary had always been enough to support my family; I didn't rely on savings. So, you need security at this time. Also, never borrow money, and absolutely never borrow money to go all in—that's absolutely unacceptable. Are there opportunities later? Absolutely. Future opportunities are always more numerous than past opportunities. Will it make you rich overnight? Not necessarily. I don't know how much Bitcoin can rise in the future, and that doesn't mean it won't fall tomorrow. Besides Bitcoin, there are many other cryptocurrencies to invest in. I generally advise young people starting out to create a diversified portfolio, allocating about 80-90% of their cryptocurrency holdings to a few core cryptocurrencies. Don't use all your savings, and definitely don't sell your house to buy cryptocurrencies. Young people can afford to take on higher risks while ensuring a basic standard of living. Because salaries are likely lower when you're young, investing 10-20% of your salary in cryptocurrencies each month won't result in a particularly large absolute amount. At the same time, the cost of living is lower; you might not have a wife, children, or many elderly relatives to care for, allowing for a more flexible lifestyle. Therefore, I generally recommend minimizing your fixed costs. This allows you to take on higher-risk investments, but you can't afford to end up homeless the next day. Education in the AI ​​Era: Ultimately Moving Towards Truly Personalized Teaching Question: Giggle Academy was created from the very beginning in the AI ​​era. As AI becomes increasingly powerful, has your initial educational vision changed? What are your views on the future educational model in the AI ​​era? CZ: When Giggle Academy started, ChatGPT was already quite popular, so by my definition, it was originally a Post-AI Project. From day one, I said we should use AI to its fullest potential. At the time, we also considered whether we should actually create Giggle Academy, or whether we could simply let AI teach children in the future. At the time, our assessment was that AI didn't seem capable of consistently teaching young children, especially very young ones. Older children could ask AI questions, and AI could answer. But at least for now, it wasn't like a teacher, able to continuously teach according to a complete curriculum. I think the ultimate state might be where an AI can directly teach you. Perhaps an AI from a major company could continuously teach you, which would be ideal. But before that, there might be a company specializing in education that fine-tunes AI to a very high level, enabling it to truly teach a person according to a curriculum. At this stage, most courses, tutorials, and content are likely still designed by humans, with AI used extensively to help with rapid implementation. We've probably only reached this stage so far, but AI is progressing very rapidly. For me, if AI can ultimately teach a child from zero to eighteen years old, and teach them very well, then it's okay if Giggle Academy ceases to exist. It was originally a project without revenue, simply to make a positive contribution. It might even be the other way around. In developing Giggle Academy, we've used a lot of AI and accumulated a lot of experience. Ultimately, we might have implemented an educational method that utilizes AI to its fullest potential. Whether it gets acquired by a large company or someone copies our approach is fine. For me, these things aren't important; what's important is how to make education the best it can be. Traditional education currently has many limitations. For example, classroom education, the first problem is homogenization; it tries to cultivate you into a fairly average person in all aspects. But future competition will be extremely globalized, where you might need to be in the top 0.1% in your field. Therefore, the future should emphasize specialization. Basic skills like communication and arithmetic are certainly necessary, but you should receive specialized training in your strengths. One-on-one live tutoring is unrealistic because there aren't enough teachers. But one-on-one education through technology, using apps or AI to teach each individual, is definitely the future direction. If You Were to Start a Business Again: Don't Blindly Change Direction Just Because Others Are Making Money. Question: If you were to start a business again with only a team of ten people and limited funds, what direction would you choose? And what criteria would you use to judge whether a direction is worth going all in? CZ: If I were to start a business again today, I wouldn't have many choices. I'd probably have the best chance of success in the area I'm most familiar with. Starting a business isn't about doing what's best; it's about aligning your skills, your interests, and what's valuable with these three elements. AI is amazing, but I can't do AI. If I wanted to do AI now, I'd have to go back to university and learn algorithms and all sorts of things. Right now, my understanding of Transformers is probably only superficial; to really do AI, you need a very deep understanding, and I don't have that advantage. So if I can't work in the stock exchange, I'll most likely still do something related to K-12 education. For most people, you don't have to do what others are doing well just because you see them doing it. Just because someone else is running a successful Sichuan restaurant doesn't mean you have to open a Sichuan restaurant too. Look at NVIDIA. They're making a lot of money now, but it took them forty years to get to where they are today. Graphics cards definitely weren't as profitable as CPUs back then, and they were also difficult to make and not as "sexy." They took thirty years to develop, and then AI companies started using GPUs extensively, which is why they're so powerful now. Apple has also experienced many ups and downs. So don't suddenly change your direction just because someone else is doing well for a while. When starting a business, you still need to understand your strengths. Also, don't go all in without careful consideration. Starting a business sometimes does require going all in, but you should wait until you have a product and a product-market fit before going all in. Trading anxiety usually means your risk exposure needs adjustment. Question: I've been doing cryptocurrency spot quantitative trading for seven years. In a market downturn, quantitative strategies sometimes have to be out of the market for extended periods, which can be quite anxiety-inducing. How do you think one should control this mindset? CZ: If you feel anxious while trading, you should usually reduce your trading position size. Question: But right now, I'm anxious precisely because my position size is too small. CZ: In that case, I really don't have an answer. Binance's Next Phase of Ecosystem Development: Focus on Following Trends, Not Creating Trends Question: What is the most important growth driver for Binance's ecosystem in the next phase? How will Binance help high-quality projects, creators, and ordinary users share the benefits of ecosystem growth in the future? CZ: If you're referring to the Binance centralized exchange, I don't really manage that business anymore. From what I understand, they're currently putting a lot of effort into RWA, which I think is a reasonable direction and is growing rapidly. But RWA isn't just a matter for centralized exchanges. In fact, Binance, as a centralized exchange, isn't the ideal asset issuer. With so many regulatory bodies and securities markets globally, and each country having its own regulatory system, a better approach might be to have local brokerages issue the corresponding on-chain assets, with Binance providing the infrastructure and support. Furthermore, the Binance ecosystem isn't just a centralized exchange; it also includes BNB Chain, PancakeSwap, Aster, Trust Wallet, and more, requiring the entire ecosystem to support a single sector. As for the next hot trend, if something new emerges and its popularity is clearly visible in the data, I believe the entire ecosystem will support it, whether it's AI-related or something completely unforeseen. My advice regarding Binance and the BNB ecosystem has always been to follow trends. We don't necessarily need to create trends; those who truly create trends are often entrepreneurs within the community. We can't predict what will be popular or not. Once an entrepreneur creates something, others will follow suit. If one project performs exceptionally well in a particular sector, it can potentially revitalize the entire sector. Our role is more about support. Wealth doesn't automatically bring happiness; health and relationships are more important. Question: Many people believe that "money can solve 99% of problems." Do you still have problems? If so, what are they? CZ: Many people have a misconception that wealthy people must be exceptionally happy, but that's not true. Happiness has little to do with wealth. Having money makes life easier, but it doesn't automatically make you happy. From my personal perspective, I didn't have a lot of worries in the past. Everyone has worries, and I still have a lot of troubles to deal with now, but overall, worries are only a small part of life, and I'm generally quite happy. And my happiness has little to do with money. I haven't sold or cashed out my cryptocurrency. From my perspective, I haven't spent much money; many people with far less assets than me spend far more. For example, I've never bought a sports car, and I've rarely ridden in one. The reason is simple: I just don't like them, I'm not interested. I won't follow others' lead just because they like something. What I enjoy are skiing and kitesurfing. I'm almost fifty now, so I think about how many more years I can enjoy these sports. If I stay healthy, I might be able to do them for another twenty years, so I'll enjoy those twenty years to the fullest. When I can no longer do these things, I'll learn to appreciate art and explore other things. So what truly makes me happy isn't buying sports cars or doing what others think I should do, but doing what I genuinely enjoy. I think people need to find what truly makes them happy. If you can't find your interests and are always comparing yourself to others, it's hard to be happy. Most people think that doubling their current wealth would make them incredibly happy. But even if their salary actually doubles, they might be happy for two weeks before returning to their original state; adding a zero to their assets might make them happy for a month before they start thinking about the next zero. Of course, I strongly support everyone working hard to earn money, but happiness shouldn't be built on that foundation. The most important thing, first and foremost, is health. Without health, a healthy person might have a hundred problems, while an unhealthy person might only have one remaining question: how to regain their health. Secondly, family. If you have a supportive family member, a warm home, this in itself is a very important source of happiness. Next are friends, the connections between people. You don't need many friends, but they need to be of high quality. Then comes career, making money, and so on. Of course, you still need to work hard to make money if you're too poor, but after a certain point, the importance of money will decrease. How Minimalism Helps Handle Complex Crises Question: When Binance faces a complex crisis involving conflicts between global regulatory compliance, user interests, and the company's survival, how does your minimalism help you simplify things? Could you share a case study? CZ: Many problems seem very complex on the surface, but when making decisions, they can be simplified to a very basic question. For example, in some countries, we encounter law enforcement agencies. Ninety-nine percent of law enforcement agencies are very reasonable, but occasionally we encounter very unreasonable situations. At this time, there may be various threats and pressures, and theoretically, the other party can take many actions against you. At this stage, many factors will be involved, such as whether we compromise, pay, or what to do; it can be very complex. But for me, it ultimately comes down to one question: Is this decision consistent with our principles? Are we protecting our users? From a law enforcement perspective, law enforcement agencies should theoretically also protect users, so their starting point should be consistent with ours. If the other party's demands contradict the principle of protecting users, then even under strong pressure, we can still make a relatively simple decision. Including the Nigerian incident that everyone has seen in the news, the other side put a lot of pressure on us, but in the end, we still acted according to our own principles. There are actually many similar examples, but many details are not suitable to be discussed in great detail. Why is Hong Kong's encryption policy progressing slowly? Question: Hong Kong is actually a very good gateway, but from my personal observation over the past two or three years, I haven't seen much progress. What obstacles has Hong Kong encountered? Or is it that there isn't enough attention being paid to this area? CZ: Hong Kong has a very mature and developed financial system. Under such a system, changes in financial compliance tend to be slower. The more mature something is, the slower the changes tend to be, because there are more things to consider. Hong Kong has many securities firms and banks, so every policy change needs to consider its impact on existing industries. If I were in charge of regulation, I would also want to support new industries, but before each new rule is introduced, I must first understand what the change means. Even after understanding it, I cannot implement it immediately; I must provide sufficient notice time to allow existing companies in the industry time to adjust and respond before gradually implementing it. Therefore, this process is often measured in years. Startups often calculate costs by the day or even the hour, but compliance changes in a mature financial system are typically calculated on an annual basis. Furthermore, Hong Kong must consider its relationship with mainland China. It's generally understood that Hong Kong can play a certain experimental and sandbox role in many areas, so it also needs to consider the impact of any policy change on China as a whole. Several significant challenges arise here. One question is: if the RMB aspires to become a globally accepted or mainstream currency, will supporting Bitcoin or digital currencies affect this goal? The second is foreign exchange controls. What impact will supporting digital currencies have on the existing cross-border capital flows management framework? For example, if someone holds $100,000 worth of Bitcoin and flies from Shanghai to New York, they don't actually need to complete a cross-border transfer like in traditional finance. The exact "location" of this Bitcoin is difficult to define using traditional financial methods. Therefore, what mainland China and Hong Kong need to consider is how to solve these problems. It's not that there are no solutions, but each solution involves trade-offs, which naturally leads to more time needed for policy implementation. Overall, I think Hong Kong's current attitude is one of very hard work in pushing forward. The Hong Kong high-level officials and multiple regulatory departments I've met are all very actively promoting this direction. The real problem is that it's extremely difficult, not as simple as industry practitioners imagine. Universities are an important venue for promoting crypto education. Question: Many young people on Hong Kong campuses don't really understand cryptocurrencies. Do you think universities are a good environment for promotion? What advice do you have for students? CZ: I think universities are a very good environment for promotion. Many major reforms and changes start in universities, so starting promotion in universities is a very good approach. However, our industry involves finance, so promoting it in universities can sometimes be a little sensitive. Actually, I've given similar lectures at many universities, including the University of Hong Kong, and at universities in many other countries. From an industry-wide perspective, there's definitely room for improvement in this area. Binance has Binance Academy, which offers free educational content. I think among all exchanges, Binance Academy is one of the more comprehensive and well-developed educational platforms. However, starting with universities promoting crypto education, the entire industry can continue to increase its efforts.