Main Takeaways
Binance is one of the largest fully remote companies in the world with thousands of workers distributed across geographies and time zones. Unlike other exchanges, our market runs 24/7 and it cannot have any down time.
Have you ever wondered how Binancians manage syncing and collaborating with each other in a decentralized manner?
For this article, we interviewed more than twenty Binancians across five main global time zones to try to understand how this truly global and distributed force acts as a single organism between different regions and time zones.
Since its founding in 2017, Binance has grown into one of the largest fully remote companies in the world, with around five thousand employees scattered across the globe, supporting trillions of dollars worth of trading volume over coordinated group chats and online documents.
Unlike other global companies where employees are categorized and restricted to working within their markets or regions, Binance assembles its teams almost like a “network state”, regardless of their individual member’s geographic locations. For example, a single department or a business unit at Binance can be composed of employees working from Australia, Argentina, Kosovo, and the United Arab Emirates.
Thus, working at Binance has become a unique cultural phenomenon of our digital age. It is an experience that is full of contradictions: both solitary and hyper-connecting, surreal and also familiar, on one hand freeing up personal time and space, on the other hand inviting an onslaught of work pings around the clock.
How do they manage? What patterns have emerged from the experience of the world’s largest crypto ecosystem as it tackles the complexities of global coordination? How does this remote workforce master the art of synchronizing across time zones?
We have identified several main geographical time zones covered by Binance’s many distributed working hubs, and spoke with more than twenty Binancians from each of these time zones to understand the inner workings of this fascinating networked structure.
(UTC+7, +8, +9)
Southeast Asia, Japan, Korea, Australia, New Zealand, APAC: The Most in Demand
The Asia-Pacific region is the first to greet the new day, and employees like LL, APAC PR Manager, start their days before much of the world even stirs.
Based in Seoul at UTC+9, LL has perfected her morning routine. “I start opening work chats around 10 or 11 am,” she explains, “but my real productivity window is from 9 am to noon, when it’s still quiet, and I can focus on writing and proposals.”
The quiet hours in the morning allow LL to tackle her most critical tasks before the floodgates of global meetings open in the afternoon.
Her colleague EZ, a Senior Designer at UTC+8, operates on a similar rhythm. But as a designer, his work often spans the entire day, sometimes bleeding into the late evening.
“We manage global tasks,” he says, “which means I often wait for approvals from leaders in different time zones. The challenge is juggling several tasks at once while ensuring I’m available when leadership comes online.”
This structure highlights a common pattern for employees in this region: the morning hours are reserved for deep, focused work, while the afternoons are all about collaboration.
The challenge, however, lies in the inevitable overlap with colleagues in Europe, the Middle East, and the Americas, where late-night meetings become the norm.
According to LL, some general meetings like global town halls will often run really late on her side of the world, often requiring to adjust meal times with loved ones or even sleeping time.
DM from PR and Marketing in Singapore at UTC+8, thinks that APAC timezone is the most demanding timezone of all. “Think about it: colleagues often come to us with requests that must be done as soon as possible as we are the earliest to rise. Often we can’t say no and have to attend to matters very early. However, this does not mean we are excluded from late night pings and calls later on to accommodate the later time zones.”
DG, the Strategy and Operations Lead in Japan at UTC+9 says that he sometimes has to standby from 8 am all the way to midnight, with breaks in between, hence the onus is on him to be able to set personal boundaries and balance his day.
For employees like PK, a regional manager at UTC+7, having to work late sometimes has its own silver lining. “Working late at night gives me peace and quiet to plan for the next day,” he says.
(UTC+4)
United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain, MENA: The Middle Ground
For those working in the Middle East, such as OTQ, Risk Operations Manager, and FY, Site Reliability Engineer, remote work is all about balance: balancing meetings with global team members while also managing individual tasks.
“I divide my day into three sets of three hours,” says OTQ, who is based in Dubai, UAE, at UTC+4. “I spend my mornings catching up on messages from Asia and my afternoons syncing with Europe.”
This region sits at a pivotal time zone, offering a middle ground between Asia, Europe, and the Americas. Employees here can comfortably stay connected with both east and west of the world within a reasonable window of time throughout the day.
Some of the more difficult challenges for OTQ and FY are those rare urgent requests from colleagues located in the Americas that have to be attended to late at night their local time.
OTQ adds that he also generally makes sure he has communicated everything he needs to communicate to APAC ideally by 2 pm local time, because it will not be very considerate to ping APAC beyond 2 pm.
Apart from that, most employees in the Middle East can work within normal hours of operations.
“Nothing special for me, most of the time I get to work from 9 to 5 or 6,” quips FY.
(UTC+1, +2, +3)
Europe, Turkey, South Africa: The Sweet Spot
Just like the Middle East, Europe is also generally regarded as a time zone well-situated for global coordination. The ability to still catch APAC before they sign off in the European early mornings and receive LATAM as they rise in the European late afternoons allows for consistent communication windows, allowing reasonable hours for employees to work from morning to dinner time.
EW, Policy and Change Management Analyst in South Africa at UTC+2, thrives in the morning hours, crafting her to-do list after diving into her inbox at around 10 AM. “My most productive time is from 10 AM to 2 PM,” she explains. “After that, it’s all about catching up on emails and ad-hoc projects.”
AS, Creative Program Manager in Spain at UTC+2, finds herself at the perfect crossroads of multiple time zones, working with team members in APAC, MENA, and the Americas seamlessly throughout the day.
AS also emphasizes the need to master project and time management tools like Asana and Google Calendar to stay in sync with this asynchronous workforce.
For YF, an Operations Lead based in Paris also at UTC+2, her time zone is the ultimate sweet spot. "I get to follow the usual working time, 9-6," she explains, allowing her to maintain a structured routine while still collaborating effectively with both Asia and Europe.
MJ, Angels and Community Coordinator in Lisbon at UTC+1, is grateful for the productive overlap of other regions around his timezone. His mornings are spent engaging with colleagues in Asia and Dubai before they sign off, while afternoons are spent chatting with those working from the Americas.
(UTC-3, -4, -5)
The Americas: The Early Risers
In the Americas, the time zone challenge flips. Employees often start their collaboration meetings early to sync up as soon as possible with APAC before they sign off, followed by interaction with colleagues in Europe and the Middle East.
GN, Head of LATAM based in Brazil at UTC-3, starts his days with metrics review and meetings with Asia and other time zones. When afternoon comes, the rest of the world starts to clock off, giving him the freedom to work on his own terms. He uses lunch for networking opportunities and the rest of the day for deep work.
“From my own personal experience, I feel that the team in Asia is often the one accommodating the team in Latam,” GN reflects, “However we all try to take turns to help out and adjust to each other.”
TM, Director of Enterprise Compliance based at UTC-4, takes advantage of early mornings to catch up on correspondence from Europe and Asia. “I enjoy starting my day at 6:30 am,” he says, “Because it allows me to connect with colleagues around the globe before they log off.”
(UTC-6, -7)
The Americas: The Awkward Afternoons
Further west, employees have to be on guard twice: very early in the mornings and then again late at nights to align with global teams. It is not uncommon for them to rise as early as 5 am in order to catch meetings with the rest of the globe, and still answer messages after dinner time.
For KSA, Operations Manager for North LATAM based in Mexico at UTC-6, the biggest challenge is fitting early morning meetings into her routine. “I like to work out in the mornings but sometimes, I have to cancel my morning sessions because meetings fall right when I’m supposed to be at the gym,” she says.
EF, Special Investigations Manager at UTC-7, has mastered the art of clustering her meetings to avoid being on call all day. “I’ve learned to be flexible with my time but also set boundaries,” she explains. EF usually rises early in order to overlap with colleagues in the Middle East and Europe, and then logs on again late in the evening to make sure that she synchronizes with the colleagues in the APAC timezone.
Working in this time zone allows her to finish most of her calls by mid-afternoon, leaving the rest of the afternoon for individual tasks or personal time. As a morning person, EF finds this rhythm easy to follow.
JS, Binance’s legendary Chief Security Officer who is also based at UTC-7, points out that those working in his timezone often have an “awkward” gap in the afternoon where they can take naps.
“In order to attend the weekly security general meeting, I have to stand by as early as 6:30 am,” JS says. Beyond noon, traffic usually quiets down, except if he has to catch calls with the leadership team in the Middle East who stays awake past midnight their local time.
“By 5 pm and beyond, the APAC region will rise again, so we have to log on again and work intensely in the evening as well if we want to coordinate closely with them,” explains JS.
“Naturally it is best for us to take care of our personal matters in the afternoons.”
Legend
The yellow bars show the periods where workers in each region are available, and potential overlaps in UTC.
Workers can start as early as 5 AM and work for 8 hours within a broader window up to 11:59 PM local time, avoiding times between midnight and 5 AM.
UTC 0-12:
APAC: Working from 0 to 12 UTC (7:00 AM to 7:00 PM local time).
Middle East: Working from 1 to 12 UTC (5:00 AM to 4:00 PM local time).
Europe/Africa: Working from 3 to 12 UTC (5:00 AM to 2:00 PM local time).
The Americas (-3 to -5): Working from 8 to 12 UTC (5:00 AM to 9:00 AM local time).
The Americas (-6 to -7): Working from 11 to 12 UTC (5:00 AM to 6:00 AM local time).
UTC 12-24:
APAC: Working from 12 to 19 UTC (7:00 PM to 2:00 AM local time).
Middle East: Working from 12 to 20 UTC (4:00 PM to 12:00 AM local time).
Europe/Africa: Working from 12 to 22 UTC (2:00 PM to 11:00 PM local time).
The Americas (-3 to -5): Full coverage from 12 to 24 UTC (9:00 AM to 9:00 PM local time).
The Americas (-6 to -7): Full coverage from 12 to 24 UTC (6:00 AM to 6:00 PM local time).
Flexibility, Freedom, and Focus
Across every region, the key benefit of remote work at Binance is the flexibility it offers. Whether it’s avoiding the daily commute or adjusting schedules around family life, employees consistently praise the freedom to design one’s workday on their own terms.
As OTQ in Dubai notes, “Remote work lets me live where I want, in a family-friendly, cost-affordable city of Ajman outside Dubai, without worrying about traffic or commuting.”
AZI, Talent Development Specialist at UTC-4, puts it best: “The greatest perk of remote work at Binance is the culture of freedom that comes with it. I live and work without feeling the need to compromise either. This is invaluable to me. It's also cool working and virtually meeting people of different personal and professional backgrounds, diversity of thinking, and cultures. It sparks the traveler (and curiosity) in me.”
The focus on self-discipline is another recurring theme across regions. Without a physical office or 9-5 structure, employees must manage their own schedules and hold themselves accountable. This challenge, however, has also become an opportunity for growth.
RS, Senior Communication Manager in LATAM at UTC-3, points out that Binance’s remote work culture has challenged her to hone the skills required to be a competent and competitive global employee.
“At Binance, the time difference is part of our global nature, like the multiplicity of languages, cultures, and nationalities. For me, beyond the daily challenge it may pose to carry out different tasks, it is a constant reminder of how truly global we are.”
Closing Thoughts
At the helm of Binance’s global operations is the CEO Richard Teng, who mostly splits his time between Singapore at UTC+8 and Dubai at UTC+4. Richard’s workday is a constant adjustment to different time zones, as his role requires him to travel extensively to cover all of Binance's global deployment.
Every day, Richard performs a difficult balancing act juggling external physical meetings (with policymakers, regulators, partners, in-person speaking events, media engagement, and so on) and internal virtual calls, in whatever time zone he travels to. He is thankful for having an excellent Executive Assistant that manages his schedule well. He advises, “Working remotely is a privilege, so in order to continue enjoying this privilege, Binancians need to adapt and adjust and be mindful of each other’s time zones, in order to make sure that our business continues to run efficiently.”
Regardless of where one is located, most employees work the average of 8 hours a day, however, with the nature of the crypto market, there will be critical moments when everyone has to roll up one’s sleeve and work around the clock, regardless of location.
It is up to each employee to be mindful of each other, to help each other as best as they can, and also to set strong personal and professional boundaries. Only people who are self motivated and responsible can do well in this environment.
In the crypto world where the market runs 24/7 and the sun never sets, Binancians have learned to thrive, not just survive, in a remote-first, time zone-fluid environment. And perhaps that’s the greatest takeaway from this global phenomenon: the future of work isn’t about where you are physically bound — it’s about when and how you work to achieve a shared mission and vision.