The Future of Cryptocurrencies with Changpeng Zhao

Changpeng Zhao, The CEO of Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange recently shared his ideas about the future of Binance, the blockchain, and decentralization with Fortune.

Since the blockchain rally last year, markets saw a scramble for the adoption of the emerging technology and a subsequent rise in charlatans. There has been a great deal of speculation around the future of blockchain technology but precious few people who understand it enough to speak knowledgeably. In the whole world, there are even less who are leading the field in capitalizing on the blockchain. Changpeng Zhao is both.

Slow approach of dApps

According to him, the decentralized future will not happen overnight. At least not without the appropriate foundation in place. Binance acquired its first company TrustWallet which serves as a wallet as well as a search engine for decentralized apps (dApps). This is a clear indicator that Binance is betting on a move towards decentralized services. This will allow a greater number of people to adopt and utilize services which are not controlled by a single entity.

While dApps seem to be the natural progression of the field there has been an enormous amount of companies that have come to the market with shoddy interfaces or downright useless programs. It’s no surprise that the notorious Crypto-Kitties is the most successful dApp. Clearly, the field of decentralized apps needs a revolution and a browser like TrustWallet could prove to be foundational architecture in developing the next constellation of dApps.

Changpeng Zhao believes that there will be a new wave of decentralized apps based on blockchain technology which will tend to be more useful and less cartoon kitten based. These apps will likely emulate the ecosystem of apps we currently have, including messaging, social media, and rating systems. He believes that e-commerce will follow shortly thereafter.

Country-based Blockchain

Binance has taken steps to make sure that it is at the forefront of the blockchain based future. They have built their blockchain to aid in decentralized cryptocurrency exchanges, and most recently they have partnered with the country of Malta to form a global decentralized community bank.

Changpeng Zhao also believes that there is a possibility that new players coming to the field could threaten Ethereum. EOS, Dfinity, and Tezos are all bringing blockchain companies online with an aim to take market share from Ethereum.

Specialized and Decentralized

According to Changpeng Zhao, none of these competitors will be able to dethrone Ethereum because of the time that it has taken them to enter the marketplace. He believes however that current blockchains will give up their portion of the market to more specific blockchains.

There is an approaching future of multiple blockchains which will be deployed for specific purposes. Perhaps instead of Vitalik Buterin’s world computer, we will be looking at numerous global computing systems operating together. In this version of events, the giants of general blockchain will have to concede space to specific blockchains operating within isolated industries.

Blockchain Is a Big Market

The Binance CEO believes that in spite of new competitors in this emerging industry, the blockchain will be big enough to handle robust competition. Changpeng Zhao stated a reluctance to compete in developed markets like the U.S. where lobbying and lawyers are crucial to gaining a foothold.

He does not see an oncoming conflict with other cryptocurrency exchanges like Coinbase and Gemini given that he prefers to work in areas like Malta which allows him direct access to state-based crypto architecture. This appears to be a better use of his time rather than attempting to get US lawmakers to understand cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology.