Conversation with BNB Chain's Executive Director of Growth: Technology, Users, and Infrastructure—Why I’m Optimistic About BNB’s Next Decade

The Theme of Binance Blockchain Week (BBW) 2025: "The Next Era"

Binance Blockchain Week (BBW) 2025, labeled as "the most ambitious edition to date," closely aligns with its theme through major leadership updates, “The Next Era”.

Yi He, dressed in bright yellow, announced her appointment as Co-CEO, marking the start of the Binance Dual CEO Era alongside Richard Teng. On the same day, Nina Rong, BNB Chain's newly appointed Executive Director of Growth took the stage for the first time to share how BNB Chain is driving the next wave of ecosystem growth.

After wrapping up the BNB Hackathon in Abu Dhabi, TechFlow sat down with Nina for an in-depth conversation.

Speaking about the Hackathon, which drew strong community engagement, Nina shared:

"The first-place team was a group of students from a programming school in Abu Dhabi. They weren’t crypto developers, with support from AI and mentors, quickly built a project that earned recognition and showed real-world potential. This is an important signal for the industry."

She added that hackathons are more than technical competitions, they are high-efficiency networking environments where ideas collide, collaboration forms, and new ecosystem connections emerge.

As Executive Director of Growth, Nina’s path—from Arbitrum (Layer 2 leader) to BNB Chain ( CEX related public chain leader)—spans two different ecosystems with distinct growth models. Recently, BNB Chain shared its 2025 Year in Review: DAU remains stable at 3.7 million, with a peak of 5 million; DEX trading volume surpassed $2 trillion; and stablecoin supply grew to $14 billion.

With these impressive results, Nina shared how BNB Chain plans to continue its growth:

“A public chain is foundational infrastructure. Its core users are retail, institutions, and developers. Growth means serving these three groups better.”

"BNB has an excellent tech team, a massive user base, and well-developed infrastructure. It will be increasingly difficult for competitors to catch up with BNB Chain’s scale."

Finally, as an experienced industry professional, Nina offered her advice for newcomers entering Web3 or BNB Chain ecosystem:

"Develop a founder mindset—be determined and resilient. Never detach from the market; stay actively engaged in trading to maintain a fresh perspective on what’s truly hot."

Let’s follow Nina’s insights and explore the growth strategies that are shaping success in the crypto world.

A successful hackathon is an efficient platform for social connections

TechFlow：

Congratulations on your new role at BNB Chain, Nina. We’ve seen you at Binance Blockchain Week and the BNB Chain Hackathon recently. How’s your experience been so far?

Nina:

Thank you so much for having me. TechFlow has been a long-time friend, and I’m really happy to be here. Since I joined, things have been quite busy, but I’ve been really impressed by the warmth and enthusiasm from everyone. Honestly, it’s been a pretty smooth onboarding process. There haven’t been too many surprises. The only unexpected part is that I didn’t realize just how many tasks I’d be handling myself! When you step into this role, there’s a lot to manage, and it’s a bit like being on adrenaline—you just want to do everything well. So, in a way, it’s been a bit of a “power-up” for me personally, pushing my own limits.During Binance Blockchain Week, I could really feel the energy from the community and developer groups—it was amazing.

As for the hackathon, I honestly didn’t expect it to be such a huge success. We had a lot of technical partners, product collaborators, and even KOLs focused on on-chain mechanisms joining us. Many old friends from the industry also showed up, so the overall vibe was incredibly dynamic. BNB’s community really feels alive and engaged.

TechFlow:

The BNB Chain Hackathon was a huge success. Were there any projects or ideas that really caught your attention?

Nina:

There were several standout projects this time. The team that took first place was from a programming school in Abu Dhabi. They were not blockchain developers and had no prior knowledge of the tech, but in just a short time, they managed to create a project. Mentors inspired them with ideas, like building a DeFi mining APY dashboard, and they quickly turned that into a working product. To me, this is an important signal: non-crypto developers, with the help of AI and mentorship, can rapidly produce viable and impactful projects. This is a key indicator for the entire industry.

TechFlow:

Do you have any data on how many Web2 developers or students participated in this hackathon? What’s the approximate percentage, and has it increased?

Nina:

We don’t have exact figures on student participation yet, but this event was hosted at a programming school, so it naturally attracted more students. We also plan to collaborate with many universities in the year ahead.

Hackathons aren’t necessarily about guaranteeing the great projects; they’re more about creating an environment for innovation. As a public chain, our job is to provide developers with the best possible platform to explore innovation and new ideas.

A lot of the ecosystem progress comes not just from hackathon projects but from the connections made between mentors, or even between different ecosystem teams. For example, some teams from other ecosystems, after attending the BNB Chain hackathon, felt inspired by the environment and are now considering joining our ecosystem.

So, a hackathon is not just a technical event; it’s also an incredibly effective networking platform that brings people together to discuss ideas and drive meaningful conversations for the industry.

BNB Chain will be here in 10 years

TechFlow:

Many people may not be familiar with the title "Executive Director of Growth" so could you walk us through your career background? What are the main responsibilities of your current role as Executive Director of Growth at BNB Chain?

Nina:

At a high level, the Executive Director of Growth is responsible for driving the growth of the public chain. As a foundational layer in the blockchain ecosystem, a public chain serves a diverse range of users—retail users, institutional users, and developers. So, my role is to ensure that we support and engage these key groups effectively to foster growth across the ecosystem.

In my previous role at Arbitrum, I wasn’t deeply involved in marketing, nor did I have a dedicated marketing team to work with. However, at BNB Chain, marketing and business development are both integral parts of my responsibilities. I’m working across both areas to drive the broader growth strategy.

TechFlow:

I believe many people first got to know you while you were leading the Arbitrum ecosystem. A few years ago, you witnessed the explosive growth of the Layer 2 sector, with Arbitrum standing out as a leader. What motivated you to move to BNB Chain?

Nina:

A lot of people assume my departure from Arbitrum and my move to BNB Chain were connected. , but they were separate and independent decisions. I left Arbitrum in March this year and joined BNB Chain in September-October, so there was a gap between the two,with no prior expectation of doing so.

For me, leaving Arbitrum was a natural step in my career. Staying too long in the same company or role might not be optimal for either individual or the company. I have great respect for the three founders of Arbitrum, and I still maintain a very friendly relationship with them. But at that point, I wanted a break, and I also wanted to see more new talent rise within Arbitrum’s ecosystem.

Personally, I see BNB Chain as a public chain with incredible potential. If we look ahead ten years, I believe BNB will definitely be one of the public chains still standing. It boasts strong technical resources, institutional backing, and a massive user base. BNB Chain has a rare ecosystem that pulls together all of these elements, and I feel incredibly fortunate to be part of it.

TechFlow:

How would you compare the BNB Chain ecosystem with the Arbitrum ecosystem?

Nina:

I think Arbitrum has positioned itself as a more technically-driven ecosystem, while BNB Chain has a much larger user base. There’s no right or wrong here, just different focuses. The ideal scenario would be to have both a strong user base and a thriving developer community.

If I were still at Arbitrum, I would probably be focused more on the user side of things. But now that I’m at BNB Chain, my priority is developer ecosystem—to better serve the developers within our ecosystem. This will be a key area of focus in my role moving forward。

TechFlow:

I’ve noticed you’ve mentioned gaining a lot from listening to Yi He’s talks, describing them as “always refreshing.” How would you describe Yi He in your own words, and what insights or inspirations have you gained from her?

Nina:

Honestly, I haven’t had much direct communication with Yi He until recently, when we invited her to speak at the hackathon. That gave me the chance to meet her in person. So, my understanding of her has mostly come from being a “fan”， just like so many others.

I think one of the things that makes Yi He so compelling is how her ideas resonate no matter what stage of life you’re in. Most people never have the opportunity to see things from her perspective, especially when you're handling issues that could impact an entire industry. But the lessons she shares, the insights she’s gained, can be incredibly powerful, even in personal life.

There’s one quote from her that really stuck with me: "God will keep giving you the same hand of cards until you figure out a better way to play them. Once you find the solution, God won’t deal you that hand again."

I find that to be a powerful reminder for anyone facing challenges. When you’re going through a tough time, it might be a sign to stop running from the problem and instead find a way to solve it. Otherwise, the same issue will keep showing up. For me, her words serve as a source of strength, particularly when life feels difficult.

"Fearless in the face of the unknown" is a perfect way to describe her. Although the challenges we face are completely different, every time I hear her speak, it always gives me the courage to tackle my own obstacles.

Tech, Users, and Infrastructure: BNB’s 3 Key Advantages

TechFlow:

In the current market cycle, especially with the competition from Solana and Base, where do you think BNB Chain’s untapped potential lies?

Nina:

One of BNB Chain’s most underestimated strengths is its technical team. They rarely appear publicly, but they are brilliant engineers and researchers. One of my goals is to better represent their work and help the industry understand the technical contributions BNB Chain is making.

TechFlow:

Do you think public chains have a moat? Why? If so, where is BNB Chain's moat?

Nina:

I think one of BNB Chain’s biggest advantages is its massive user base.

For developers, users are the real anchor. Most developers aren’t obsessed with which underlying infrastructure they build on — they care about whether anyone will actually use their product. In that sense, having a large user base is a moat in itself.

Another key advantage is mature infrastructure. A public chain must make it effortless for users to onboard, and that requires a huge amount of groundwork: exchange integrations, bridge connectivity, RPC providers, developer tooling, and so on. BNB Chain completed this entire infrastructure stack five or six years ago.

Once the foundational infrastructure is solid, the ecosystem at least has its “basic needs” covered. In today’s hyper-competitive L1 landscape, new chains need to spend heavily just to build basic infra, which pushes them into long-term financial pressure. Many can’t even provide developers with this basic level of support. BNB Chain simply doesn’t have this problem.

So even setting aside the idea of a “moat,” I think it will become increasingly difficult for new competitors to ever reach BNB Chain’s current scale.

TechFlow:

Do you think there are still opportunities for new L1s today?

Nina:

I think it’s very hard for new public chains to break out now. As I mentioned, providing developers with basic infrastructure is already extremely expensive. On top of that, a new chain must clearly prove why its product is better than existing chains. If it can’t, why would users or developers switch?

That’s also why I didn’t join a brand-new L1 — I simply couldn’t convince myself that the market still needs another new public chain.

Chinese Market is Our Strength, with Different Focuses in US, LATAM, and Middle East

TechFlow:

There's a perception that among Chinese-speaking users that most of the users and developers on BNB Chain are from the Chinese-speaking community. Is this true? How significant is the proportion of Chinese-speaking users? Do you have any related data or insights?

Nina:

I don’t have specific data. Since blockchain is permissionless, it’s hard to precisely quantify regional user shares. That said, BNB Chain is undeniably popular within the Chinese ecosystem, and I consider this an important advantage.

For me, BNB Chain is still in a relatively early stage, and we have a lot to do. The entire blockchain industry also needs collective effort to raise the ceiling and expand the pie.

and at the same time, we’ll continue to expand into markets like the US and Europe. This will be a key focus for us in the coming year.

TechFlow:

Regarding the growth of the BNB Chain ecosystem, where will your focus be in terms of regions or strategies? What growth tactics are you implementing?

Nina:

The US, LATAM, and the Middle East will all be key regions for us. However, each region has a different focus:

• In the US, especially, we’ll focus more on institutional partnerships and university collaborations.

• In LATAM, we’ll concentrate on individual developers.

• In the Middle East, where regulations are more favorable, we’ll focus more on RWA (Real-World Assets) and similar initiatives.

Each region will have a different approach, we tailor talent and strategy to each market.

TechFlow:

How do you view the Chinese-speaking and East Asian communities? Are there any specific areas you think are particularly worth focusing on?

Nina:

Globally, the Chinese-speaking market is one of the few regions with strong developers, users, and institutions. So, we’re not focusing on just one aspect, but rather addressing all of them.

As for the Korean market, we do have a community manager there. Currently, our focus in Korea is more on community operations, engaging with traders through content and activities. However, this isn't fixed. If we see a growing number of developers in Korea, we will shift to focus more on developer-related content. For now, the demand is primarily trader-driven.

TechFlow:

What growth metrics or data do you pay the most attention to?

Nina:

The growth metrics for most public chains are similar, including TVL, trading volume, number of projects, token activity, and so on.

Cultivate Founder’s Spirit, Never Disconnect from the Market

TechFlow:

As an experienced industry professional, what advice would you give to entrepreneurs looking to enter Web3 and move from 0 to 1?

Nina:

I feel that my career has grown alongside many of my friends, from being a complete beginner in the space to where I am now, learning and progressing together. I’m grateful for all the support.

In recent years, I’ve tried to bring talented people from outside of crypto into the space, but many didn’t stay. A lot of them feel that Web3 is still in its early stages, and since they already have stable Web2 jobs, they’re hesitant to dive into Web3.

My first piece of advice is: give yourself the chance to try. Don’t hesitate or overthink it—give yourself six months or a year to see what you can achieve in Web3.

Secondly, Web3 is a highly self-driven, self-learning industry. This is one of its major barriers to entry. Unlike Web2, where you can follow a structured path with courses and certifications, Web3 doesn’t offer that kind of formalized learning. Most of the knowledge comes from Twitter, podcasts, and community discussions. It's important to build your own learning stream early on and develop an efficient learning methodology to keep up with the industry’s rapid pace.

TechFlow:

Do you have any key professional experiences or insights to share with those currently building in the industry?

Nina:

The most important advice I can give is: Never disconnect from the market.

I recommend that all Web3 professionals set aside a small amount of money—even something like $1,000—and actively participate in the market: trade, try out new projects, and stay engaged with the industry. Keeping this fresh perspective and staying connected with the market is invaluable for long-term career growth and industry insight.

TechFlow:

I’ve seen a lot of people asking you how they can join the BNB Chain team. What are the talent standards you’re looking for? If someone wants to join BNB Chain or develop a project on BNB Chain, how can they reach out to you?

Nina:

BNB Chain has two core talent standards:

Founder Spirit: This means a strong determination to get things done, resilience, and the drive to constantly improve yourself. It's about being willing to push projects forward in high-uncertainty environments and turning things that seem impossible into reality.

Real industry understanding: As I mentioned earlier, you can’t disconnect from the market. If you’re in marketing, you must truly understand the best practices: what strategies work, what kinds of content and activities drive user engagement. If you’re in BD, you need to have a deep understanding of the ecosystem: who’s competing with whom, who is best suited for deeper collaboration, and who the key players are in different sectors. I especially value candidates' industry insights and their ability to translate these insights into decision-making and actions.

TechFlow:

If an ecosystem project wants to build on BNB Chain, what channels are available for them to get in touch?

Nina:

For ecosystem projects, they can submit their information through the official Twitter link we’ve set up. Many of our BD partners also have public Twitter accounts, and they can DM them directly.

For job seekers, we’re hiring in BD and Marketing roles. If you’re interested, feel free to send your resume via direct message. I personally review all the DMs and comments, and if it’s a good fit, I’ll respond. If not, don’t be discouraged—it’s all about timing!

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