Key takeaways:
- Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao sat down for an interview with Fortune
- The CEO discussed a number of topics, including the bear market and Binance’s new hirings and investments
- Zhao indicated that it could take four years before Bitcoin and the rest of the market reaches a new peak
Zhao sees the crypto downturn as an opportunity for the industry to become “stronger”
In an interview with the US news outlet Fortune, the Chief Executive Officer at Binance, Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, revealed his thoughts about the bear market, Binance’s part in growing the crypto industry, and the role of crypto in sanctions enacted against Russia.
Zhao admitted that the current situation in the crypto market is “bad”. Bitcoin is trading more than 60% removed from its ATH, while the total value of all digital currencies in circulation dropped from $3 trillion in November to below $1 trillion in June. However, the CEO shared an optimistic perspective on the bearish trend, essentially pointing out that when there is a disaster, “there is also opportunity.”
Recall that Binance has been on a spending and hiring spree in the past couple of months. The company announced last week it will expand its workforce by 2,000 personnel by the end of the year, which comes in stark contrast to Coinbase and other companies that have been announcing hiring freezes and cuts.
In addition, Binance has made several considerable investments recently, including allocating $500 million for the Web3-oriented investment fund and making a $500 million commitment to help Tesla CEO Elon Musk in his Twitter takeover bid. The reason for this apparently lies in Binance’s extensive capital reserves. Zhao explained:
“We do not need to raise money. Based on my knowledge, we have a much larger budget than anybody else in the industry.”
The Binance boss added that the downturn, although “painful for a lot of people”, will help make the industry stronger. “Everyone who lasts, who survives, will be stronger,” Zhao said.
Although during the interview Zhao didn’t reveal how long the crypto downturn could last in his opinion (apart from remarking that the crypto market seems to follow 4-year cycles), his Saturday Twitter post did shed some light on the topic. Judging by previous cycles, it will likely take years before enough momentum is garnered for BTC and the rest of the market to rally to new price peaks.
In response to a question about crypto being used as a means of evading sanctions used by Russian oligarchs, Zhao reiterated his previous stance that crypto as a whole is simply too small to have any considerable effect on the global economy and that it most likely represents a minuscule share of the total wealth controlled by the Russian elite. The CEO also remarked that while Binance does adhere to the sanctions list, it would be wrong for the company to “unilaterally” freeze accounts of all Russian citizens.
