H1: The Early Days of the Crypto Industry Gold Rush Are Long Gone, Products Must Provide Real Value to Solve Problems

BlockBeats Live Update April 20, 2026 On the first day of the 2026 Hong Kong Web3 Carnival, Binance Co-CEO He Yi joined a fireside chat titled “Reshaping Convenience: The Next Decade of Web3, AI, and the Smart Economy.” Here’s what he stated: “When the internet first emerged in Silicon Valley, it had strong hippie culture. Back then, many people wrote off those into internet and tech as geeks or freaks. But the internet saw a major split: the ‘left’ group built the dark web, chasing absolute freedom, while the ‘right’ group founded Google and Amazon—becoming mainstream commercial giants serving billions globally. If you ask where Binance is headed, we’re unwaveringly moving to become a commercial company for the masses. “Yet as we serve everyday users, we haven’t forgotten that tech innovation remains critical—whether blockchain or AI. Often, people think the stigma around crypto or public backlash is normal for new technologies. If everyone got it, if there was no controversy, how would there be tough challenges and real innovation? I remember when I was young, going to internet cafes—my mom back then wanted nothing more than to break my legs. “So seeing blockchain now embraced by Wall Street and traditional finance (an about-face) tells me the industry is maturing. Similarly, the early adopter dividend in this space is shrinking. When that dividend fades, complaints rise. Once the early adopter phase ends, we enter maturity: all products need to deliver real value and real-world use cases. “I have huge respect for the industry’s technical experts, but I always ask them three questions: What’s this tech for? What problem does it solve? And will anyone actually pay for it?”