Original | Odaily Planet Daily (@OdailyChina)
Author | Fu He How (@vincent 31515173)
Today, the Binance Chinese community officially introduced a new feature of the Binance Web3 wallet - Binance Alpha at the Space event.
In this event, Binance co-founder He Yi and Binance Wallet Business Manager Winson appeared together to answer questions about new features for users and conduct in-depth analysis of the latest developments in the industry. This Space invited many Web3 Chinese media and well-known KOLs to participate in this discussion and asked He Yi and Winson questions about hot topics such as Binance's coin listing policy.
He Yi shared his views on the current industry situation during the event, responded to recent controversies regarding Binance's listings, and elaborated on the future development plans of Binance Alpha.
The following is a transcript of the Space, organized and edited by Odaily Planet Daily.
Q: Binance has faced numerous controversies regarding token listings in the past year. How do you view this phenomenon? What reasons did Binance have for launching Binance Alpha? Can you elaborate on the background of this matter and whether the project selection process is the same as that for futures and spot listings?
He Yi: There are indeed higher user expectations for listings on Binance; everyone hopes that each token will rise, but the reality is that after a listing, the market value may spike in the short term and then drop back. This situation leads us to continually seek optimization solutions, such as suppressing token prices through pre-market pricing, but the effect is limited.
The entire industry also faces some structural problems:
Project token issuance cycles are short, lacking real users and solid business models. Many on-chain interaction data are artificially 'washed' out, lacking value support.
The current market hype is more about distributing 'air', as projects themselves lack labor achievements and profit models, making it difficult to sustain long-term development.
The global regulatory environment is complex, and the participation cost and risk for excellent entrepreneurs are very high, resulting in the industry being stuck in an awkward phase.
The original intention of launching the Binance Alpha region is to provide users with an 'observation zone' listing popular but still immature projects in the market, including hot meme coins, VC-supported projects, local chain projects, etc. Users can trade these coins through the wallet, but their entry into the observation zone does not mean they will ultimately be listed on Binance's spot or futures markets. Most meme coins will likely go to zero in this wave, with only a few able to survive. This is a rather harsh reality.
The significance of the Binance Alpha section lies in providing users with tools to filter high-win-rate projects while reminding everyone to participate rationally in new projects and conduct thorough research. Ultimately, we hope to find those projects that truly possess social value, can generate labor results, and give back to token holders. Nevertheless, whether in the Binance Alpha section, spot, or futures listings, it is a continuous process of filtering and elimination, and there is no guarantee that every token can survive long-term or make users money.
For the market hot topic of meme coins, we understand their appeal and will include them in the Alpha region, providing users with early value capture opportunities. However, the ultimate healthy development of the industry still depends on whether excellent projects can truly generate social value and share the results of labor.
Q: Regarding Binance Alpha, are there specific project selection criteria? Will the projects listed in Binance Alpha possibly be listed on the main Binance board in the future? Will Binance Alpha favor projects in the BNB ecosystem?
He Yi: The project selection for Binance Alpha does not solely depend on whether it will ultimately be listed on the Binance main board. The selection criteria focus on the project's popularity and attention rather than just because a project enters Binance Alpha means it will definitely be listed. In other words, while many projects entering Binance Alpha have high exposure and potential, not all of them will ultimately be listed, as this depends on more market and internal assessment factors.
BNB Chain, as one of the hot public chains in the industry, is indeed a focus of support for Binance. Due to the strong competitiveness and high attention of the BSC ecosystem in the market, its projects are more likely to be included in Binance Alpha. However, this does not mean that Binance Alpha is limited to the BNB Chain ecosystem; other excellent projects will also be considered.
Q: Industry competitors are investing substantial resources into wallet operations (with team sizes reaching 500-1000 people). What is the current size of the Binance wallet team? In the face of such strong competitive pressure, is Binance adopting a defensive or offensive strategy?
Winson: Currently, the Binance wallet team has just hit 100 members, but the team is still expanding, especially in technical positions. We welcome excellent engineers to join.
Regarding the significant investments and achievements of competitors in the wallet space, the Binance team expresses great respect and actively studies and learns from their strengths. However, Binance will not simply replicate their models, but will explore differentiated development paths.
From the market demand perspective, users do not need two identical wallet products, so blindly imitating is not feasible. Binance believes there is enough space in the wallet track to accommodate different differentiated products. Based on years of practice, the team has clarified its development path and is confident about it.
The strategy of the Binance wallet is neither purely defensive nor purely offensive, but focuses on exploring new paths:
Responding to user demand, providing easy-to-use, comprehensive, secure, and reliable wallet services to address most users' on-chain operation needs.
With user experience at the core, making the user's usage process more 'pleasant' while providing safety and data support.
We acknowledge that Binance started late in on-chain services, spending a significant amount of time in the past year recruiting top talent, rebuilding the wallet team, and reconstructing the system from the ground up. Although we are still in a 'clearing house' phase, the team has a clear plan for the future, aiming to gradually improve functionalities based on user needs.
The CEO mentioned in conclusion that although Binance started later in the on-chain field, the team's confidence and resource investment are ample, just like the development of Binance's contract business in the past, and it will similarly make significant progress in the future.
Q: What is the long-term development positioning and plan for the new Binance Web3 wallet? How does it differ from the positioning of Trust Wallet within the Binance ecosystem?
Winson: The new Binance Web3 wallet is positioned as 'newbie-friendly', but it is not limited to serving only novice users. The team believes that if a product can be made very simple for beginners, then experienced users can also easily adapt to it, even if they may be a bit unaccustomed at first. Therefore, the goal of Binance Wallet is to serve veteran users in the industry while focusing on new entrants, committed to promoting the large-scale adoption of Web3, especially contributing to the popularization of mainstream user groups.
The team also plans to address key experience challenges users face when using the wallet through phased implementation of specific improvements, ultimately achieving the elimination of all barriers, allowing users to use Web3 products without thresholds.
Differences from Trust Wallet:
Platform Integration: The Binance wallet is deeply integrated with the main Binance platform and belongs to the same app, while Trust Wallet is a relatively independent product.
Compliance: The Binance wallet is designed based on KYC (Know Your Customer) requirements and meets compliance standards, while Trust Wallet is a more independent product and does not have deep compliance integration with the main Binance platform.
User Base: The user base served by the Binance wallet is relatively broad, including existing Binance users and new Web3 users, while Trust Wallet focuses on providing an independent wallet experience, targeting a wider decentralized user base.
Although there is currently some competition between Binance Wallet and Trust Wallet, this is not an internal 'cutthroat' competition but rather 'differentiated competition', aimed at providing differentiated services for different user groups and promoting the popularization of Web3. The team believes this competition will benefit the development of the entire industry, and the goal of Binance Wallet is to enable more people to smoothly enter the Web3 space and simplify the user experience.
Q: Are the projects in the Binance Alpha section selected by Binance itself, or through other means such as community voting or open applications? If a project successfully 'graduates' and lists on the main Binance board, what aspects will be included in the assessment? How can the issues of inflated metrics and fabricated data be avoided?
He Yi: The project selection for Binance Alpha includes both active selection and proactive applications or community recommendations from external sources. Binance’s selection is not solely based on industry hype but will undergo detailed research and analysis, covering multiple fields such as public chains, infrastructure, DeFi, NFT, etc. These selection criteria combine on-chain data tracking and daily submission information from projects. Therefore, projects may enter Alpha through applications and community recommendations, but whether they are eventually selected still depends on their popularity and market performance, making the Alpha section a relatively broad pool.
For those projects that successfully 'graduate' and have the opportunity to list on the main board, the assessment criteria will cover multiple aspects. These mainly include project quality, compliance, and development potential, ensuring that projects not only have popularity but also possess the capability for long-term development. To avoid inflated metrics and fabricated data issues, Binance will conduct strict due diligence on the authenticity of projects during the screening process, including the sources of data and trading behavior, ensuring compliance with the platform's standards and maintaining market fairness. Binance is also exploring whether to introduce more interesting features in the Alpha section and welcomes the community to provide innovative ideas or feedback.
Inflated metrics and fabricated data are difficult to completely avoid in the industry, especially as some projects use airdrops or inflation tools to boost their popularity. Binance believes the key is to continuously assess value and leverage industry experience to identify which data is real and which is fabricated.
Binance uses the Alpha section as a filtering mechanism, allowing projects to first showcase and accumulate data, observing which projects can continuously attract users and create value, and which are just inflating metrics. This is the core purpose of launching the Alpha section, aiming to filter out truly promising projects.
Q: How does the airdrop platform section in the Binance Web3 wallet select airdrop projects? Can users gain more benefits early on by participating in airdrops?
He Yi: Airdrops are a tool provided by Binance for project parties and users, primarily aimed at attracting users for project parties and providing more opportunities for retail investors. For retail investors, airdrops may be the goal, but for project parties, it is more a means to acquire users. Binance hopes to connect more quality projects and users through this platform, avoiding inflated metrics and ensuring projects can interact with real users.
In addition, Binance is also considering how to enable users to earn more through on-chain operations while ensuring these operations are simple and secure. Besides airdrops, Binance plans to collaborate with the industry through an open platform to jointly promote the development of Web3, creating more valuable scenarios and projects.
Winson: Binance's airdrop platform is a sub-section of its open platform, aiming to connect Binance users with project parties. The core value of the platform lies in helping project parties promote their products to the right users through accurate user data. Binance does not intend to overly screen projects, but rather allows any project party to initiate airdrops through an open approach.
In the future, Binance's open platform will further expand, allowing more project parties to promote on the platform without limiting project selection. Thus, Binance aims to create a diversified platform, providing more opportunities for project parties and users.
Q: Will the wallet in the future transition to account abstraction or intent wallets? If so, will it use its own technology or that of other projects?
Winson: The Binance wallet will indeed adopt technologies related to account abstraction and intent wallets, but it will not fully transition to these two approaches. The goal is to lower the barriers for user usage, achieving a more convenient user experience through these technologies. In terms of technology selection, Binance will not simply copy existing solutions in the market but will conduct in-depth technical research, combining its own user needs to design a suitable solution. While technology serves the product, Binance emphasizes that technology should integrate with user scenarios to ultimately bring greater value to users rather than simply following technological trends.
Q: Will Binance adjust the screening criteria or display list based on user feedback on showcased tokens? If the displayed tokens encounter widespread negative feedback, how will Binance respond?
He Yi: In arranging the display of projects on Binance, Binance will follow its own arrangement logic, such as considering token price fluctuations, listing times, etc. Users can arrange according to their own needs, and Binance's focus is to maintain the platform's transparency and flexibility, allowing users to sort themselves.
For negative feedback in on-chain operations, Binance will remind users through notifications, especially when high-risk projects arise. Since Binance operates purely on-chain, it cannot shut down deposit or withdrawal functionalities like CEX platforms, so it mainly relies on a warning mechanism to alert users. As for feedback channels, Binance is considering establishing a Telegram group to facilitate users' feedback and ensure timely responses to project risks.
Q: Binance Wallet positions itself as the largest airdrop platform. What is the core concept behind this? How does Binance Wallet help newcomers lower the barriers to on-chain interactions, or what are the advantages and points of consideration as an airdrop distribution platform?
Winson: The strategy of the Binance wallet is not solely focused on becoming the largest airdrop platform. While the airdrop platform is an important means for Binance wallet, it is not the only core strategy. The platform's goal is to bridge users and project parties, capturing user value through the airdrop platform while helping achieve a win-win situation for both sides. The positioning of the airdrop platform is to provide users with a convenient participation experience, not just to serve as a distribution platform.
Binance Wallet has already made significant optimizations to guide new users in lowering the barriers to on-chain interactions. This is reflected in several key areas:
Guided Experience: Providing users with step-by-step tutorials to guide them in completing each step.
Airdrop Management: Helping users manage airdrop earnings through the Reward Center feature, avoiding manual management and improving user experience.
User Lifecycle Management: Providing a one-stop solution from project launch to airdrop receipt and earnings management, minimizing user operations and leaving the rest to the platform.
Through these optimizations, Binance wallet strives to simplify the user participation process and enhance user experience.
From the perspective of project parties, the Binance wallet is not only an airdrop platform but also a precise marketing platform. Project parties can ensure that airdrop tokens are distributed to target user groups through the Binance wallet, which is also the direction of future product iterations for the Binance wallet.
Q: How does Binance wallet define its own growth? What experiences and lessons has Binance wallet learned during its past development?
He Yi: The growth of the Binance wallet is defined not just as an expansion of a wallet platform, but as an important entry point for the entire Web3 ecosystem. The goal of the Binance wallet is to become a convenient channel for users to deposit fiat, register, complete KYC, and perform on-chain operations. The core idea is to simplify operational processes and provide a smooth cross-platform experience, allowing users to complete their operations smoothly whether they are performing on-chain operations or using centralized exchanges (CEX) for investment.
Binance Wallet positions itself as the entry point to Web3, helping users understand hot topics in the crypto space and eliminating the boundaries between blockchain and traditional finance. Whether users choose to interact on-chain or invest on CEX, Binance Wallet aims to provide the simplest solutions to enhance user experience.
During the growth of Binance Wallet, the biggest lessons learned mainly focus on the following points:
Insufficient reserve of professional talent: In the past, Binance Wallet did not have enough reserves in Web3 technology, primarily leaning towards Web2 operational models. While it could operate efficiently, there were still shortcomings in deeply understanding and applying Web3 technologies. This is an important reflection point, and Binance hopes to attract more professionals to join and drive further development of the platform.
Lessons from past missteps: Binance has faced challenges in compliance and technology. For example, it experienced difficulties and setbacks in using Compass, compliance, and applying for licenses, especially in Web3 technology solutions, where there were some mistakes. Through these experiences, Binance has placed greater emphasis on compliance and made large-scale investments and adjustments.
The transition to Web3: Binance is gradually transitioning from a traditional Web2 platform to Web3, a process that is not easy. While the company's operating model was very successful in a Web2 environment, the thinking and technical requirements of Web3 are different, and Binance has certain technical shortcomings in this area. These past missteps have helped the team realize that to truly become an industry leader, breakthroughs in Web3 technology and thinking are necessary.