Meet Our Longest-Serving Binance Angel: Life as a Binance Angel

Binance Angels lead some of the world’s largest and most passionate crypto communities. Hear from Ivan, an active angel since 2017, on how he started his crypto journey and what it means to be a Binance Angel.

“Angels are more than volunteers. They’re representatives of Binance’s vision. Angels are people who want to contribute towards Adoption and Freedom of Money. They’re the ones that truly believe in cryptocurrency, blockchain and Binance and want to help others join the movement. Our Angels are the closest to the users and are thus the ones that are best suited to discuss and assist them.” — Jager, First Binance Angel

Hear From Ivan—Our Longest-Serving Binance Angel

Meet Ivan, an active angel from the Philippines who has volunteered his service to the Binance community since November 2017. We had the honor to sit down with Ivan and chat more about his interest in crypto and what makes a successful Binance Angel.

How about a self-introduction!

Hi and good day! My name is Mikhail Ivan, but you may call me Ivan. I'm from the Philippines (kumusta mga kabayan). The first time I got involved in the cryptocurrency space was in the year 2015. At the time, I wasn’t a full-time cryptocurrency follower, nor did I have any knowledge of the space itself. All I did was trade my digital Team Fortress 2 items into Bitcoin through a trading site, TF2Outpost (already closed and gone), which would accept digital Steam items (like TF2, CS:GO, DOTA 2), in exchange for PayPal or crypto like Bitcoin.  I HODLed my satoshis of BTC because, fortunately, I forgot about it as the years passed. Overall, I got involved in the cryptocurrency space playing video games and learning how to trade in-game items into valuable assets. 

How did you get into the Binance Angel Program?

I found out about the Binance Angel Program during the year of July 2017. It was actually during the Binance ICO announcement. A user on a subreddit shared a post; I got curious and checked the website. Then, I eventually checked the Binance Zendesk and saw that they're currently looking for Binance Angels, so I tried to see and learn more about it. However, I did wait for a few months before sending my application in September 2017. Now what pushed me to sign up for the Binance Angel Program? It has something to do with the fact that no other company has ever done something like the Binance Angel program; Binance was the only company with a program like this in 2017. We’re all very grateful, and I’d like to give a big thank you to Binance! It’s my goal to spread and help Binance grow, especially in our local communities.

How do you feel as a member of Binance’s largest community volunteer program?

It feels incredible to help users and share my knowledge with them. Community moderation in the Telegram groups allows me to interact with users from all walks of life, which is a cool experience, especially when there's a Binance Meetup since you get to meet some of them in person. Being a Binance Angel has been the most rewarding experience because socialization wasn't my strongest suit as an introvert. The Binance Angel Program has given me the strength and courage to improve myself and broaden my horizons. I’m thankful for the new friends I’ve met and the entire Binance family. Volunteering for the community is indeed a great feeling. 

Describe your thoughts on the importance of communities in crypto?

People join crypto communities because they want to interact and learn more about the cryptocurrency space. Once they understand the concept of crypto, they’ll eventually venture on their own for more knowledge and self-research. Aside from that, the role communities play in the overall ecosystem is very amazing! It starts with joining one community, and eventually, those people will start using their free time to build and join other communities. As the overall crypto community grows, so does the knowledge of the users within. People will anticipate new projects through self-research and the communities they join. It never ends, and the communities will keep on growing. Overall, it is a fantastic thing to see as learning never stops!

What do you do in your free time?

I'm not quite sure if you can call this a hobby, but I spend a lot of time reading and watching crypto-related news articles and videos from time to time. It could be boring, could be not, but also a very interesting thing to do haha. I also play video games in my free time, and I still haven’t forgotten my roots in Steam trading, which is now done through the official Steam Marketplace. Buying and selling digital Steam items can be very exciting at times, especially when there's a new CS:GO Major or Operations. On the topic of CS:GO, let’s give a big congrats to Na`Vi on winning the Major title! Other than that, all I do is crypto stuff and monitor the Telegram groups—even in my free time. I love what I'm doing because cryptocurrency is life!

Speaking of interest, what kind of characteristics do you think an angel applicant should possess?

A successful Binance Angel leads with humility, works with grit, builds a better path, has a passion for others’ success, and is always kind and compassionate. One piece of advice to first-time crypto users, never give up and always keep moving forward. Because in crypto, it’s very unpredictable at first, but things will start to make a lot of sense once you understand and know how it works. Always think and focus on the long term, not the short term. #HODL

Become a Binance Angel Today

Big thanks to Ivan, who took the free time to share his thoughts with us, and congratulations on your fourth year as a Binance Angel. If you’re interested in becoming a Binance Angel, you can check out our Angel application posting.

What Do Binance Angels Do? 

Binance Angels are passionate crypto users, community-builders, believers, leaders and much more! As an angel, you’ll act as a bridge between Binance and the users, addressing day-to-day questions and concerns and providing all-around support for the most passionate crypto community in the world.

Our Angel program is also an excellent way to learn and improve in many different areas. Beyond meeting people, you’ll learn to understand the community’s needs and how you can impact the blockchain industry.

Follow Binance on Twitter or Facebook for more information.