Growing Crypto Through Sign Language: Life as a Binance Angel

Binance Angels lead some of the world’s largest and most passionate crypto communities. Hear from Selçuk Aydın, whose passion is supporting crypto users with hearing impairments.

I am happiest when I help people with hearing difficulties on our Binance Turkish Sign Language Channel

- Selçuk

Hear From Selçuk on His Dedication to Building a Sign-Language Crypto Community

Since its inception in 2017, Binance has built one of the most passionate crypto communities. Our social media platforms and Binance Angels make sure millions of users have a place to get their questions answered and make new friends in the crypto space. 

We had the chance to chat with Selçuk Aydın to learn more about his unique background and how he uses his personal experience with hearing difficulties to help others navigate the world of crypto. 

1. How about a self-introduction?

Hi, let me introduce myself. I was born in Ankara, Turkey, in 1986, and I’m married. I’m hearing-impaired, but I can speak and hear thanks to hearing aids. I can translate to and from Turkish Sign Language. I currently work as a biologist at a microbiology laboratory of a public hospital. 

Before crypto, I was doing network marketing between 2013 and 2014. Around that time, I heard my friends talking about Bitcoin and other altcoins. Suffice to say, I was quite interested, and I discovered more soon after. 

I started with a few different exchanges then Binance was founded, and it struck me as a more reliable platform. Verification, SMS codes, e-mail codes, passwords (2FA), and other security processes felt more robust. Plus, Binance listed more altcoins than other exchanges.

I believe Binance will grow faster than the other platforms — their services are better than the rest in my eyes.

2. How did you find the Binance Angels program? Why did you join?

Something was missing from the Binance Customer Support and Binance Academy guides: I couldn’t find any support for people who are hard-of-hearing. That’s why I decided to become Binance Angel Deaf. Why not help other hard-of-hearing Binance users with the Turkish Sign Language?

The biggest challenge people with hearing difficulties face is reaching the information they want, or rather, understanding and interpreting such information. 

So, I created a Telegram group called Deaf Power for the hearing-impaired in 2016. The group covers topics related to crypto, blockchain, and trading. For the deaf community, many find it challenging to transact on exchanges and understand crypto lingo. I’ve been trying to alleviate such problems by using and teaching Turkish Sign Language.

After setting up my Binance account, I noticed Binance Angels trying to do all they can to help others on social media. Naturally, I wanted to join.

3. What do you do as a Binance Angel?

As a Binance Angel, I translate Turkish Sign Language for the hearing-impaired and tell them all about Binance. We have countless users with hearing difficulties who take the Binance Academy tutorials but don’t understand much. 

There was this one time when my friend with hearing difficulties tried to solve their problem with the Customer Support team. He had difficulties communicating with the team, so he explained the situation to me with sign language, and I managed to help! 

Unfortunately, users with hearing difficulties face several challenges when signing up or trading crypto. Most find it hard to understand the texts explaining how to sign up, and there’s inadequate support for hearing-impaired-friendly YouTube videos. I will sometimes set up video meetings to help deaf users understand Binance and how to get started.

4. What’s your proudest moment/accomplishment as a Binance Angel?

In our Turkish Sign Language channel, we have the world’s first YouTube and Telegram resources dedicated to crypto for the hearing-impaired. Even Binance's Twitter page now shares sign language translation for events and promotions. 

Becoming a Binance Angel has affected me profoundly, and I cannot be more proud. We thank you, Binance, for the support you have given us.

5. What’s your favorite part about the Binance community?

Understanding, collaboration, and compassion.

I am happiest when I help people with hearing difficulties on our Binance Turkish Sign Language channel; it’s my favorite resource because I myself go through the same things. I understand hearing impairments and know how or where I can assist hard-of-hearing users. 

A phrase I adore perfectly sums up the Binance Angel philosophy — “Engel Olma, Destek Ol” (To Support Always, To Hinder Never).

One of my favorite Angels since day one is Stuart. He supported me all along and continues to do so. I thank him for not leaving our users with hearing difficulties alone.

Another Angel I’m grateful for is Can. When I needed a background for a shoot I had to do for my channel, he helped me prepare and present a backdrop with visuals accurately representing the Binance Sign Language. 

Then there is Axel. He always supports me regarding words that need clarifications and for AMAs in our Binance Turkish Sign Language channel. I am grateful to him.

Last but not least, Patricia. I thank her for showing me how to enable subtitles in the Binance Angels Meeting so I could have an easier time communicating clearly. I deeply appreciate all these folks’ help.

5. What do you enjoy in your free time (if it’s also crypto, tell us more!)

I get up and go to work at the hospital. During my breaks, I follow the Binance Telegram, Twitter, and YouTube channels. After work, I pick up my son and wife and head home. I spend my free time at home on Telegram to answer questions in the chat or help out other hard-of-hearing users.

I always felt like my room is my Home Office. Let me show you! Cool, right? :) You’ll often find me translating the Binance Academy guides to Turkish Sign Language and then uploading them to our Youtube channel. We are currently translating the Binance Academy crypto glossary into Turkish Sign Language from A to Z.

Finally, what qualities and traits does a Binance Angel possess?

Angels are people who constantly research, learn, and catch up with what’s new. They also find joy in sharing knowledge and mentoring their peers.