Editor | Wu Blockchain
At the 2025 Web3 Festival and Hong Kong Crypto Finance Forum roundtable discussion, Binance co-founder He Yi shared her observations and personal thoughts on Web3.
He Yi stated that Binance's essence is three things: first, creating good products; second, serving users and employees well; and third, communicating effectively with regulators. These three points constitute our core competitiveness. Many Web3 startup projects have problems: no business model, speaking profoundly but incomprehensibly to users, and just listing on exchanges after inflating data. This is unsustainable. We cannot just chase concepts. What problem have you solved? What is your user scale? Does the product have a real need? These are the real questions. Regardless of whether you use blockchain, if you can create a truly useful product that gives back to the community, it is worthy of respect. Successful companies have several common points: 1. Timing: standing on the right trend. 2. Geographical advantage: doing what you're good at correctly. 3. Harmony: having a reliable team. 4. Extreme willpower: being able to withstand all difficulties. Look at NVIDIA, Tesla, and even Binance - many times we were "escaping death", but it's because we persisted one step more than others that we survived. You need strong willpower and a firm sense of direction. You know who you are, where you come from, and where you're going. Negative voices are unavoidable, but you must be able to withstand them and realize this is the "purgatory" all mature founders must face.
[The rest of the translation follows the same professional and accurate approach, maintaining the original meaning while translating into clear, fluent English.]In the second stage of the industrial revolution, factories and assembly lines were needed, so education became widespread to train sufficient workers. Even today's top business schools like MBA are essentially teaching people how to manage workers.
Now that we have entered the information age, what is the most critical resource and means of production? Many people are still unclear about this. When we talk about Web1.0, Web2.0, and Web3.0, we are actually trying to redefine the information age. Web1.0 is news information, so does the era of television and radio count? Web2.0 is about connecting people through the internet, and Web3.0 is about making changes using blockchain technology. However, these definitions are often not accurate.
We often see new concepts emerging every few years, such as metaverse, RWA (real-world asset tokenization), etc. In fact, these concepts have existed in the past decade, just with different names.
Instead of getting hung up on what Web3.0 is, it's better to ask directly what we can do for the world through technological innovation. This brings us back to Binance itself. Our slogan has never changed from the beginning: "Exchange the World". We are building a network, a platform that allows people to trade, pay, transfer, obtain information, and even create groups and chat with friends on the platform.
So I believe that when an enterprise or entrepreneur is developing a product, instead of worrying about whether to make a Web3 or Web2 product, they should first consider what value they are creating for users. Are users willing to pay for this service? That is what truly matters.
We cannot pursue technology just to follow the tech trend or satisfy our vanity. I often mention a Steve Jobs example. In a speech, when challenged that Apple's technology was far inferior to Google or Microsoft, he asked why he still claimed to be a great company. His answer was that technology must serve users, and if it doesn't serve users, it is ineffective.
So if you ask what Binance wants to do? We hope to do far more with blockchain technology than just a trading platform. Everyone can see that in our ecosystem, we have infrastructure like BNB Chain, which is more like Amazon Web Services or Alibaba Cloud, helping new entrepreneurs explore and realize new possibilities.
[The translation continues in the same manner for the rest of the text, maintaining the specified translations for specific terms.]We have indeed seen more and more regulatory bodies and traditional financial institutions beginning to realize that this technology is actually beneficial to human society. It can make the entire system more efficient, more transparent, and elegantly solve many problems that could not be solved in the past.
However, there is still an "information delay" problem. Historically, it has always been like this: when the information received by the public is mainly negative, they will classify it as a "scam" or a "bubble". When the internet bubble burst, it was the same, with everyone saying it was a Ponzi scheme, but ultimately, the internet changed our lives.
The blockchain industry has indeed encountered problems at certain stages, but this does not prevent it from becoming an underlying technology that can build a more efficient financial system. What we see in this process is a systematic evolution, with negative and positive aspects coexisting, but the forward direction is clear.
Host: Now in the crypto industry, we have the concept of "Crypto Native", and in the AI field, "AI Native" is also emerging. If these two concepts are combined ("AI Crypto Native"), what opportunities do you think would arise?
He Yi: Actually, about two years ago, when ChatGPT first became popular, I had already discussed this issue. Although I personally do not like overly defined terms, these concepts do help everyone better understand this rapidly changing world.
I have always believed that AI is a "productivity revolution" that greatly reduces human labor input in certain fields. And blockchain, I believe, is essentially a "transformation of labor relations" - it's about how to establish a positive relationship cycle between platforms and users.
Many people question this view, wondering how blockchain could possibly change labor relations? But Binance is actually an example. Our financing valuation was not high back then, just $15 million, but today, many users who hold our tokens have received very considerable returns. This process itself reflects a kind of reconstruction of production relations - the platform's development results can truly be fed back to the community and users.
When the leap in productivity (driven by AI) and the reshaping of production relations (driven by blockchain) can be combined, that transformation will be enormous. But at that time, two core problems still need to be solved:
First, where do your "means of production" come from? Many entrepreneurs haven't actually thought this through clearly. From an AI perspective, means of production is "data", and this "data" should be a broad concept, not just personal information, but all data resources that can drive models and support value creation.
Second, what specific problem are you solving, and for whom? Who is your paying customer? Only when you solve a clear problem and create real value for users can the business model stand. And only when your product truly generates revenue can you possibly feed back those results to token holders and community members.
Many projects now have good technology and concepts, but they just don't make money, leading to users accusing founders of "running away" or the "project collapsing", when in fact they may have just not found the payment logic. This returns to a very traditional question: do you have a healthy, sustainable business model?
I know this view is not mainstream in the crypto circle, and many would say this "traditional businessman's logic" doesn't understand Web3 at all. But I always insist on this position: when you have the ability and resources, you should do projects that can truly improve ordinary people's lives and that people are willing to pay for. Such projects have long-term vitality, not just relying on momentary Pump & Dump.
To elaborate further, even if you have a product, logic, and profit model, whether you are willing to give back to the community is also a very big challenge. In traditional IPOs, founders exiting after listing is very common. But in the crypto world, every token you issue becomes a responsibility on you. Your token-holding users are all watching you, and this pressure and sense of responsibility will force you to continuously evolve the organization and pursue long-term sustainability.
This is also why I am still working hard today. I used to think I would retire after earning $100 million. But when you realize the expectations of users and the community, you will have a new sense of mission to continuously promote development and make the organization more efficient and the business healthier.
If you are AI Native or Crypto Native, I believe the essence of entrepreneurship is not the most terrifying thing, and failure is not scary. What's truly important is whether you have a firm will and belief. When everyone says what you're doing can't be done, no one will pay, and you're on a path to self-destruction, are you still willing to persist? As long as your underlying logic is clear, your capabilities match, and you have faith, you should go and realize it.
Entrepreneurship is inherently a matter of life and death. It's not that half of 100 companies will succeed; the reality is that perhaps only one out of 1,000 or 10,000 companies can make it. And in this process, what truly matters is not just intelligence and talent, but willpower, open-mindedness, and the ability to continuously grow.
So I want to say, whether you are Crypto Native or AI Native, you can start over. The changes in this industry are too fast, especially after Deepseek went open-source, which actually pulled everyone back to a completely new starting line, with everyone standing together again. So it's never too late - the key is, can you persist?
