Changpeng Zhao (CZ) detailed the accidental rise of Chinese meme coins on the BNB chain and explained why Aster’s hidden orders provide a structural advantage over Hyperliquid.
In an October 10 interview with CounterParty TV, the former Binance CEO blamed BNB’s recent meme explosion on unplanned Mid-Autumn Festival posts and outlined his investment thesis, favoring privacy-oriented perpetual DEXs over transparent alternatives.
The surge in the BNB chain’s Chinese ticker began when Zhao posted, “Happy Mid-Autumn Festival. Submit your best meme,” on the traditional holiday.
The community responded with moon-themed content and Chinese tickers such as “Zhao Chang’e,” a wordplay on Zhao’s name that references a female deity in Chinese mythology.
He said:
“It wasn’t planned. It just kind of happened gradually. Everything I tweet ends up becoming a meme. At one point, I said screw it. I’m just going to tweet freely.”
In recent weeks, five BNB Chain memes have reached market caps between $100 million and $500 million, captivating Solana traders. Chao characterized BNB traders as more holder-focused due to the chain’s utility background, in contrast to Solana’s fast-paced meme culture.
Mr. Zhao said:
“They tend to have more holders. They don’t go up or down the next day.”
BNB vs Solana: Open vs Exclusive
Zhao rejected the perception that BNB operates as a closed vertical market from Launchpad to Binance listing, arguing that the ecosystem remains more open than Solana’s infrastructure.
he said:
“Binance lists tokens from all blockchains and even meme coins from all blockchains. Trust Wallet supports BNB Chain, Solana, and many other blockchains. Phantom does not support BNB Chain. Radium only works with Solana. Their ecosystem is actually much more exclusive than ours.”
Zhao explained that Solana’s focus on memes was partially inspired by the SEC lawsuit targeting utility tokens during former President Joe Biden’s administration.
Projects launching tokens with real-world use cases have faced securities violations, steering builders to meme coins that claim no utility.
“If we launch a real project using a utility token, we will be sued by the SEC. Memecoin, we just declared it has no value or utility. It’s just for fun.”
Aster’s Privacy Advantage over Hyperliquid
Mr. Zhao’s investment in Aster is based on 20 years of trading experience, and he understands that professional traders need order privacy. He argued that HyperLiquid’s transparent on-chain order book creates fatal flaws that Wall Street participants cannot accept.
A former Binance CEO said:
“Every Wall Street trader I’ve talked to doesn’t want anyone else to see their orders in real time. “If you know exactly how other people trade, there’s always one way for them to trade without losing money.”
Mr. Zhao posted about privacy issues in June, sparking 30 project pitches that day. Aster implemented hidden orders, prompting Binance Labs to invest alongside other privacy DEX projects.
The lack of privacy leaves traders vulnerable to individuals who can reverse engineer and exploit trading algorithms. Zhao acknowledged that Hyperliquid has the potential to add privacy features, but noted that exchanges compete on multiple dimensions beyond a single feature.
In addition to the need for privacy, Zhao emphasized how exchanges protect users and address mistakes.
Finally, Zhao also predicted that PERP DEX will match the trading volume of centralized exchanges within one cycle. New users are onboarded through a centralized platform with a familiar interface and then migrated to the DEX for broader choice and early access to tokens.
According to his time frame:
“In 20, 30, 50 years, everything will be on-chain. But in the meantime, CEX will improve once traditional users flood in. After that, it will slowly migrate to DEX.”