$donkey @CZ 🔶 BNB@Binance News @CZ @Yi He @Mubarak CTO Paying tribute to Changpeng Zhao and Binance with the "Spirit of the Donkey": Tenacity, pragmatism, and never-ending climbers
The spirit of the donkey
In the wild jungle of cryptocurrency, some people compare the industry to a "racetrack", chasing speed and momentum; but the story of Binance and Changpeng Zhao (CZ) is more like a "donkey" who works silently - unafraid of wind and sand, moving forward with heavy loads, and using tenacity and pragmatism to open up a path to the future.
**1. The tenacity of donkeys: from "The Wandering Earth" to global hegemony**
The endurance of a donkey lies in its ability to stay down to earth no matter how dangerous the road is. This is exactly the case with Zhao Changpeng's entrepreneurial journey. In 2017, he founded Binance amid the regulatory storm of China's "94 Ban". Faced with the collective closure of domestic exchanges, he chose a "decentralized" survival path - moving servers overseas and spreading users around the world. In just half a year, Binance's users exceeded 5 million, and its daily trading volume exceeded US$10 billion, becoming a dark horse in the industry.
Like a donkey looking for an oasis in the desert, Zhao Changpeng led his team to Japan, Singapore, Malta and other places, responding to regulatory pressure from various countries with a "headquarterless" model. Even though it was expelled from the United States, the United Kingdom and other countries, Binance still attracted users with its technical strength and low fees, and eventually became the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange.
### **II. The Donkey’s Burden: Carrying the Huge Burden of Compliance and Responsibility**
The tenacity of a donkey lies not only in moving forward, but also in taking on responsibilities. In 2023, the U.S. Department of Justice launched multiple charges against Binance, and Zhao Changpeng chose to face the problem head-on: plead guilty, resign, pay a fine of more than $7 billion, and promote the rectification of Binance. This decision is like a sudden increase in the weight on the donkey's back, which seems to crush the spine, but in fact paves the way for the long term.
Binance actively cooperates with supervision, intensifies anti-money laundering efforts, assists in freezing more than $1 billion in illegal assets, and handles 174,000 law enforcement requests in 2024. Although Zhao Changpeng has stepped down as CEO, he is still responsible for the compliance process as the largest shareholder, just like a donkey carrying a heavy burden but always looking forward - the balance between responsibility and survival has achieved the rebirth of Binance after its "wild growth".
### **Third, the donkey’s pragmatism: working hard in a low-key manner to build the foundation of financial technology**
The wisdom of a donkey is not to compete for fame, but to focus on what is under your feet. Binance never over-markets, but speaks with its technical strength: the system capacity of 1.4 million transactions per second, the liquidity of more than 600 cryptocurrencies, and the users covering more than 200 countries and regions around the world. Even when Zhao Changpeng's net worth soared to 90 billion US dollars and he became the richest Chinese, he still emphasized that "liquidity is king" and rejected the bubble of fame.
This pragmatic spirit made Binance rock-solid during the crypto market crash in 2022. When competitors such as FTX collapsed due to fraud, Binance became the industry's "safe haven" with its transparent operations and user trust.
### **Fourth, the donkey never stops: the power of innovation and faith**
The journey of the donkey is endless, and so is Binance's innovation. From the launch of Binance Coin (BNB) to the layout of NFT and Web3.0, Binance has always led the industry change. In 2024, Hong Kong approved the cryptocurrency spot ETF, and the fund cooperated by Binance was the first to enter the market, promoting the integration of traditional finance and the crypto world.
Zhao Changpeng once said: "Cryptocurrency is the infrastructure of future finance." This belief supported him to stick to it in the darkest moment when the regulatory storm and wealth shrunk by 80%. Even though he was imprisoned for 4 months, he was still the spiritual leader of Binance after his release, announcing his return with "gm" (good morning) and continuing to write legends.
### **Conclusion: The spirit of the donkey, the soul of Binance**
Donkeys are not the fastest animals, but they are the most tenacious travelers. The story of Zhao Changpeng and Binance is the best interpretation of this spirit - moving forward in doubt, growing in pressure, and leading in change. They use the "philosophy of donkeys" to prove that true success does not lie in a momentary burst, but in unremitting hard work.
In the future, the wave of cryptocurrency may become even more turbulent, but as long as they have the tenacity and pragmatism of the "donkey", Binance and Zhao Changpeng will continue to leave the footprints of innovators on the sand dunes of the times.
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