Walking Together on the Path to "Better" | Binance 7th Anniversary Special Interview
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Walking Together on the Path to "Better" | Binance 7th Anniversary Special Interview
Chatted with four Binance veterans about their views on Binance. One lost half of 110,000 BNB, another earned over two million through referral commissions...
Navigating Web3 tides with focused insightsInterviewees: sisi, D God, Brother Tu Aoda, Da Chengzi
Interview & Writing: Karen, Foresight News
July 14, 2024 — Binance turns seven.
From “seven-year itch” to “Buddha says seven years is a cycle,” the number seven carries many mystical connotations. Over these seven years, Binance has witnessed every step of crypto’s journey out of the wilderness. And during this time, Binance has evolved from a promising newcomer into a dazzling giant dominating half of the global cryptocurrency trading market.
On this early summer day—seen by many as the eve of another bull market—Foresight News sat down with four long-time friends of Binance to walk through the corridors of time, reflecting on their personal views of Binance and sharing fragments of stories filled with emotion, nostalgia, and perhaps a touch of pride. Here, we look back at Binance's shining moments and development trajectory over the past seven years, in their own words:
sisi: Why Binance? Because it’s Binance
My story with Binance began quite dramatically.
Before joining Binance, I applied to several other platforms, but for various reasons things didn’t go smoothly. That left me deeply confused. At the time, I had great curiosity and respect for the industry, but due to those setbacks, I felt lost about how to truly fit in. One day, I happened to see a job posting from Yijie (Big Sister One) on WeChat Moments. Honestly, I wasn’t confident—I didn’t think I matched the requirements. Looking back now, I want to thank the version of myself who bravely commented anyway. I quickly received a reply: “Can you fight?” Those few words made me decide then and there to give it my all and join Binance.
For me, Binance was truly the starting point of my “crypto career.” Like Hogwarts in Harry Potter, Binance became my magic school into the world of crypto—a place where I started as a “Muggle” and gradually acquired new knowledge and skills. In other words, Binance isn’t just a job for me. I prefer to see it as a journey full of opportunities and adventures, where I get to meet like-minded people and work together on meaningful and exciting projects.
To this day, I use one of my favorite quotes as my social media bio: “Always be the attacking Spica.” Every day, I look forward to new challenges. It’s both self-motivation and a way of honoring the promise I made to Yijie back then.
As a team member, my most memorable “Binance moment” is actually quite unique—it wasn’t some heart-pounding event, but rather the release of our International Women’s Day poster on March 8 this year. We broke down “BINANCE” into Brave, Integrity, Nimble, Authentic, Nurturing, Confident, and Empathetic—highlighting the strength of women from around the world. This poster wasn’t just a visual statement; it was an emotional inspiration that reinforced my confidence and pride in my career choice.
Why Binance? Because it’s Binance.
Because Binance is genuine, hardcore, and one-of-a-kind.
On a more practical note, I’m a very loyal BNB holder. As someone who stands extremely close to the Chinese community, I’ve heard countless BNB wealth stories—and I can proudly say I once bought BNB at $7. I have full confidence in Binance and BNB’s future, and I’ll keep working hard for BNB holders. Let me proudly tell everyone: Binance’s core value—“User-focused”—is absolutely not just lip service.
After seven years, Binance hasn’t even begun to “itch” yet. The industry changes so fast that every day feels fresh and exciting. I believe this is only the beginning. May we continue to break traditional boundaries in the Web3 world and build a more open, free, and fair future together.
D God: “The college student who earned 2 million from Binance referral commissions two years after graduation”—that’s me
The “culprit” behind my connection with Binance—and being suddenly thrust into the spotlight—is definitely Yijie.
At the end of last year (2023), when Yijie mentioned “the college student who earned 2 million from Binance referral commissions two years after graduation” during an AMA, she was talking about me. Overnight, I was thrust into the limelight. My follower count went up a bit, but honestly, it didn’t significantly affect my mindset or lifestyle.
Looking back, my connection with Binance dates back to 2017. By chance, I added Yijie on WeChat, and thanks to her invitation, I embarked on my journey as a Binance KOL. What started as casually sharing with friends has grown into large-scale collaborations. For me, Binance has evolved from just a trading platform into a full-fledged career.
After the sudden wave of attention, people often ask if I’ve achieved financial freedom—after all, “2 million in referral income” sounds impressive. But the truth is, I haven’t. Perhaps due to my trading strategies or mindset, I’ve always been cautious not to let trading or investing dominate my life. I’ve consistently kept my crypto investments below 25% of my total assets. Because of this, even through bull and bear cycles, I’ve maintained a healthy mindset and continued enjoying life.
After all, trading should only take up a small part of life, right?
One of my most vivid “Binance moments” was when CZ topped the list of wealthiest ethnic Chinese individuals. Just like my reason for choosing Binance among so many centralized exchanges—it’s simple: because Binance is the industry leader.
I hope Binance remains No. 1 in this seven-year cycle, the next, and every one after that.
Brother Tu Aoda: For the past 7 years, the first thing I do every morning is open Binance
Others might see my story as dramatic, but to me, it’s just a ripple in an otherwise calm life.
I remember once exchanging initial offering (“public sale”) information with some friends in China, and that’s how I first learned about Binance. At the time, I was running a self-media platform dedicated to compiling and sharing public sale data. When evaluating Binance’s BNB public sale, I gave it an A- rating—a recognition of CZ’s background and experience, as well as a rational assessment of Binance’s then-underdeveloped competitive edge.
Based on this research, I decided to invest 20 ETH in the BNB public sale. However, markets are unpredictable—the listing opened with BNB immediately underperforming. But I didn’t panic. I chose to shift focus and hold. Later, the September 4th incident triggered a brutal shakeout across the industry, with domestic exchanges shutting down or going overseas. Binance, thanks to its global strategy, rose rapidly—confirming my original decision.
At my peak, I held six figures’ worth of BNB. Of course, over the years, with market ups and downs and cycles shifting, my holdings have decreased. Still, I managed to seize opportunities from BNB launches, and the return on investment still surprises me.
In my memory, two “Binance moments” stand out. The first was when Binance suffered a hacker attack and thousands of BTC were stolen. CZ immediately promised to cover all user losses out of his own pocket—an act that demonstrated Binance’s responsibility and courage. The second was leading a $150 million investment in Sky Mavis, the developer of Axie Infinity, to compensate users affected by the Ronin hack. Though Binance later significantly reduced its stake, this action upheld the shield of user trust.
Most of my trading activity happens on Binance, and many of my profitable strategies revolve around it. For the past seven years, the first thing I do upon waking is check the market on Binance—that’s become a habit. It’s hard to imagine life without Binance.
In my eyes, Binance is a blockchain infrastructure company with a certain idealism. This adherence to ideals and principles is key to its rapid rise and sustained leadership. Binance also provides timely support—most issues are resolved quickly, and even Yijie often jumps in personally as customer service.
However, as user expectations grow and the industry evolves, Binance faces new challenges. There are occasional criticisms about how its decisions impact the market—for example, recent listings have been accused of draining liquidity. But I think blaming Binance entirely for market volatility is unfair. I hope that in the future, Binance will use its influence and user support to more carefully guide the primary market away from excessive profit-seeking. This isn’t just a challenge for itself, but a responsibility befitting an industry leader.
“A day in crypto equals a year in the real world”—an exaggeration, yes, but one that captures the speed of change. As Binance steadily advances through this ever-changing landscape, I, like many, believe Bitcoin will one day match gold in market cap. And when that day comes, I hope Binance will still stand as crypto’s NASDAQ.
Da Chengzi: I participated in Binance’s BNB public sale—but lost 55,000 BNB
Before telling his Binance story, Da Chengzi shared a bittersweet chapter from his early days in crypto:
Back in 2013, I first learned about crypto through the Bitcointalk forum. I didn’t buy Bitcoin at first—instead, I jumped straight into XRP arbitrage. At the time, I thought Bitcoin, priced at hundreds per coin, was absurdly expensive. XRP, trading for mere cents, seemed much more “reasonable.” So I started moving XRP from overseas exchanges to China, buying abroad and selling domestically via Taobao stores. Surprisingly, this venture turned out to be highly successful.
Thanks to this experience, in 2015 I participated in a primary investment in Neo (then Antshares), spending 40,000 RMB to acquire 18.2 BTC for the investment. I posted my very first WeChat Moments update for it. Three years later, I sold at triple the price, earning 120,000 RMB. But just one year after that, those coins would have been worth hundreds of millions.
Da Chengzi’s “main storyline” with Binance unfolds with a mix of (the editor’s) envy and (Da Chengzi’s) regret:
In 2017, during Binance’s BNB public sale, I invested 100,000 RMB and received 110,000 BNB. After paying a steep “tuition fee” on Neo, I decided to HODL firmly—even when the price halved shortly after listing, I never considered selling.
But soon after, I paid an even steeper tuition. To easily track my BNB portfolio value, I linked my Binance API to sosoBTC (now AICoin). Unfortunately, hackers stole my API key, gaining control of my account and using wash trades to drain half my BNB—about 55,000 tokens. This massive loss led me to step away from crypto for two years to regain my mental balance.
For me, this theft remains the most unforgettable event since getting involved with Binance—though purely on a personal level. From a broader perspective, however, my most memorable “Binance moment” was actually a crisis response. In May 2019, Binance suffered a hacker attack resulting in the loss of approximately 7,000 BTC (worth around $40 million at the time). Binance immediately announced it would fully compensate affected users using its Secure Asset Fund for Users (SAFU). It then worked closely with other exchanges and security agencies to effectively manage the aftermath.
This post-crisis handling solidified my confidence in Binance’s security. From a professional trader’s standpoint, Binance excels in liquidity, stability, and fees—giving it strong competitiveness. As a result, Binance attracts roughly 70% of global trading volume, creating a clear network effect. As this effect strengthens, Binance’s dominant position becomes increasingly entrenched, and market concentration continues to rise. For ordinary traders like me, this centralization trend is highly beneficial.
In my view, Binance is first a globally leading cryptocurrency exchange—but it’s not limited to being just a trading platform. It’s a multifunctional ecosystem. Beyond convenient trading services, it meets diverse user needs through its rich ecosystem, educational resources, security measures, and community support. I look forward to Binance achieving even greater success in the next seven years!
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