Binance Regional Market Head Vishal Sacheendran accepts an exclusive interview with the cryptocurrency media Dongqu and discusses the global regulatory trends and how to view the changes in global regulations in the next five years from a forward-looking compliance perspective after Trump's victory. (Background: He Yi AMA: Most meme coins will go to zero, Binance Alpha screening standards, key support for BNB chain) (Additional background: Binance Global Survey) Meme coins surpass BTC as the 'most held' token, with this year's entry rate into the crypto space reaching 45%. Binance's Regional Market Head Vishal Sacheendran made his first visit to Taiwan and delivered a speech during Taipei Blockchain Week, expressing optimism about global regulatory changes and confidence in the Taiwanese government's promotion of the crypto industry. Dongqu also obtained an exclusive interview with Vishal Sacheendran on global regulatory changes, Binance's layout, future opportunities, and more, providing insight into this representative figure who has worked alongside Binance CEO Richard Teng for nearly nine years and transitioned from a regulatory role to the industry. (For the convenience of readers, the following interview content has been reorganized.) Opening Dongqu: Thank you for accepting the interview today. The interview will be divided into three parts. Firstly, since 2024 is an important year, with the listing of Bitcoin spot ETFs in the United States and Trump's election leading to Bitcoin surpassing $100,000, we would like to discuss the changes in market sentiment. The second part will focus more on Binance, and the third part will discuss regulation. Regulatory work and the duality of the Web3 market Dongqu: Before entering the Web3 industry, you worked at the New York Mellon Bank and the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM). In your previous positions, you primarily collaborated with Web3 from a regulatory perspective. Now that you've joined the leading exchange Binance, you can interact directly with frontline regulatory bodies. You have deep experience in these two different roles in regulation; we are curious about the differences in work responsibilities and challenges between the two. Vishal Sacheendran: Well, that's a very good question. First, let me talk about my time working for the regulatory authority. At that time, we were in a jurisdiction that was like a startup; ADGM was very young, and it was officially established two months after I joined. In the early stages of ADGM, we knew that as a financial center, we wanted to stand out. From this perspective, we were the first jurisdiction in the Middle East to have a sandbox. The regulator's perspective Vishal Sacheendran: In 2016, we became the second jurisdiction in the world, after the UK's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), to establish a sandbox for fintech. For them (the regulators) and for me personally, it was interesting to face external new technologies and create regulations for them. Because I was born and raised in the UAE, I saw that people faced many basic issues—such as having limited options for transfers and a lack of investment choices—preventing them from creating wealth or choosing to open bank accounts. These problems exist in the traditional financial system, which is precisely what fintech aims to solve, and that motivated me further. In addition to being responsible for licensing and authorization, I was also in charge of the financial sandbox, which ultimately led me to cryptocurrency, as it allows for faster and cheaper transfers and gives people the opportunity to invest, save money, and create personal wealth; it provides people with true financial freedom. Binance as a market driver and collaboration with regulators Vishal Sacheendran: After joining Binance, I am still doing the same thing. I am still working to help people gain financial freedom and improve their lives, but the only difference is that I am now doing it from a different angle. I am helping regulators understand this industry, I am helping governments understand this industry, and I am helping legislators understand this industry so that they can work together to develop this market. It’s not just the regulators driving the industry development; Binance is also driving it, and it’s not just Binance’s own business. When I talk with regulators or legislators, I am not just representing Binance; I am speaking for the entire crypto industry because we take our responsibilities very seriously. As you mentioned, we are the largest exchange in the world. As the Spider-Man movie says, 'With great power comes great responsibility.' We are the largest exchange, so we must lead by example. We collaborate with regulatory authorities, and given my and Richard's past experiences, regulators trust us, and we trust that they will promote industry development in the right way. Dongqu: So this is more like a bridge; you need to consider both sides and communicate more. Vishal Sacheendran: Exactly. The key is trust, right? Because of our background and what we have done in the past as regulators, the regulators trust that we will do the right thing; I think that is the most important key for us. Competition between traditional financial institutions and exchanges Banks are not competitors to Binance but partners Dongqu: Many traditional financial institutions are integrating blockchain, such as Circle collaborating with New York Mellon Bank to custody USDC reserves, and SWIFT working with Chainlink to develop new blockchain payment solutions. Do you think these actions and changes in traditional finance represent competition between traditional finance and crypto exchanges, or do you believe there are driving forces that are prompting traditional banks to adopt blockchain? Vishal Sacheendran: I believe the reason is that regulation has become clearer. Take New York Mellon Bank, for example; it is a publicly traded company, and they have to be accountable to different shareholders. They are not like most cryptocurrency companies, which are private enterprises. Therefore, when they are accountable to their shareholders, everything they do must have a high degree of regulatory clarity, so when cryptocurrency regulation becomes clear, they choose to enter the cryptocurrency space. Dongqu: Do you see this as a threat to the crypto industry? Vishal Sacheendran: No, currently only 2% of the global population owns cryptocurrency. The cryptocurrency market is vast and has huge potential. Whether for traditional finance, any other cryptocurrency users, or beginners, this market has enough pie for everyone to share. I do not see this as a threat; rather, I think it helps increase public acceptance of cryptocurrency, which is very important. Regulation drives everything Dongqu: So what do you think is driving these things (banks entering cryptocurrency)? Is it mainly the change in regulatory winds? Vishal Sacheendran: Now there is higher clarity in regulation. Most importantly, professional investors have come in, just like you mentioned at the beginning with Bitcoin ETFs and Ethereum ETFs; these ETFs are listed because of regulatory approval. Cryptocurrency is a brand new asset class, and for professional investors, companies, or institutions, they bring money in with funds to buy Bitcoin. Some companies are putting...