On Wednesday, Binance founder Changpeng Zhao (widely known as “CZ”) joined a highly anticipated fireside chat where he fielded questions about blockchain, enterprises, and his personal tastes.
CZ sat down with Medha Parlikar, Co-Founder and CTO of CasperLabs, for a chat in Davos for the World Economic Forum. CZ joined Perlicker and a live audience via the live stream. The event was hosted by Davos 2023, The Blockchain Hub, powered by CasperLabs and CV Labs.
Their chat began with a call that has become familiar to industry members and blockchain users alike: “Let’s go back to basics.”
“Let’s stick to fundamentals, let’s build sustainable businesses, let’s focus on technology. Let’s build use cases; let’s build products people use.
CZ explains how to rebuild trust
CZ attempted to polish his credentials as the adult in the room, stressing that the industry must continue to work closely with the government and avoid the drama that characterizes 2022. His point about “working closely with regulators” was repeated several times.
“When the hype subsides, it’s the fundamentals that matter. Let’s keep everything safe, be very reliable, and work closely with regulators.
Perlikar asked CZ how the industry could strive for legitimacy. “Education is so important…we must continue to do that as an industry. We must educate ordinary users about the risks.”
Trust was an important theme for CZ, and he identified three ways the industry could regain it.
“We are in an industry where we can use technologies that are trustless, so we can be more transparent… Proof-of-Reserve, Merkle Trees, Zk-SNARKS. The second part is our community, our users. And to be more transparent with regulators.”
“The third part is, it just takes time…we can consistently demonstrate that we are reliable [and that] We do what we say, we will earn the trust of our users.
Many in the audience wanted more blockchain-focused talk
Several viewers expressed frustration with Perlicker’s lack of dogmatic questions and preference for “personal” questions. In response to a question about his musical tastes, he named The Weeknd and Akon, adding that he liked listening to artists who were into crypto.
Others expressed regret that a reporter did not speak. One commenter said, “So bloody sad”. “What a great opportunity to ask her really important questions in Davos, and she’s asking him about trips and food. are you kidding with me?”
“I thought it must be about blockchain,” said another.
On the topic of sustainability, CZ calls blockchain the most energy-efficient currency system to date. “Even the bitcoin network, which uses proof-of-work [and] Mining and so on, it is already the most efficient money network compared to anything else out there.
While he shared his regret that proof-of-work consumes so much energy, he also argued that it is more efficient than traditional finance. “I can guarantee you it’s more efficient than any bank you’ve ever used. You can see that just by transaction fees. Today, if you want to send a million dollars over the bitcoin network, it’s Costs you a dollar. If you want to do it through a bank, it’s going to cost you more. We just need to use blockchain more.”
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