A few days ago, CZ Zhao Changpeng revealed many significant viewpoints during an internal exchange at the University of Hong Kong. I was deeply moved after listening on-site and quickly organized my notes—what exactly does he want to do?
In simple terms, his goal is Hong Kong.
But more accurately, he wants to leverage Hong Kong to achieve something significant.
First, he clearly pointed to the stablecoin landscape. He said USDT has 'done $100 billion of private work for the dollar,' meaning that stablecoins have essentially become a 'shadow settlement layer' for fiat currency. Hong Kong, backed by the mainland, has unique advantages—it can completely rely on the Renminbi to issue compliant stablecoins, breaking the monopoly of USDT and opening a new window for the internationalization of the Renminbi. No other places like Singapore or Dubai can compare; only Hong Kong can do this.
Secondly, he proactively proposed using 'technology + traffic' to trade with Hong Kong. He believes that the currently popular RWA (Real World Assets) has been overhyped, saying, 'Don't always think about putting luxury villas on-chain; it's hard to circulate and lacks liquidity.' What should really go on-chain are assets like stocks and bonds that are already high-frequency traded and globally circulated. He hinted that the Hong Kong Stock Exchange could completely move Hong Kong stocks onto the chain and create a 24-hour global trading securities market—and for all this, Binance can provide technical support and global traffic.
To put it simply, what CZ wants is Binance's compliant status in Hong Kong. What he can bring to Hong Kong is ready-made trading infrastructure and a user base—this could allow Hong Kong to 'avoid ten years of detours' in financial technology innovation. His words are ostensibly directed at Hong Kong, but in reality, they send a signal of cooperation to the central government: he wants to come back.
He even joked, 'The money I can help Hong Kong save is enough to treat everyone to good morning tea for several years.'
He also mentioned AI on site, believing that 'the ultimate goal of AI will definitely require blockchain for economic settlement'—which the captain strongly agrees with. But regarding RWA, my views differ slightly from his. Real estate is the largest asset class globally, and putting it on-chain is not without value. Projects like @MavrykNetwork have already developed a market worth tens of billions; putting real assets on-chain is the true underlying infrastructure of the metaverse.
At the end of the exchange, CZ said something profound: 'The past drifting was just a prelude; the real story is just beginning.'
After experiencing the regulatory crackdown in the United States, he has clearly made a choice: no longer wandering, but to take root in Hong Kong.
What he wants is not just a license, but to deeply bind with Hong Kong to promote the comprehensive compliance of the Chinese cryptocurrency market.
You ask, is this a gamble?
And will the central government's longstanding attitude of wanting both crypto assets give him such an opportunity?
Can his grand narrative succeed this time?