Double interview with Binance Angels

Binance Angels are the volunteers who help the exchange expand its regional communities and therefore usually manage Telegram chats and more.

We interviewed two Italian Binance Angels to understand more about their role and why they voluntarily help the most popular exchange in the crypto world.

What drove you to become an angel?

Filippo Balsano: Certainly the passion for this new world that is rapidly growing and the fact that I can share my passion worldwide and contribute, albeit in my own small way, to educate and help the “newcomers”.

Alessandro Preti: I discovered cryptocurrencies in 2013, since then it was love at first sight and I always enjoyed keeping myself updated on the evolution of this world both as an investor and as a user of the main protocols. 

Over the years the ecosystem has evolved a lot and has gone from very basic and often unsafe exchanges, I was a user of MtGox, Mintpal and Cryptsy when they were hacked, to increasingly advanced and secure systems. I used Binance since the first months of its birth and when I discovered the possibility to become an Angel I immediately applied, both to give a hand to the development of the crypto world and to be able to look a little bit more closely at the dynamics of an exchange.

Why Binance?

F.B: Binance is the number one in this sector, so “why not Binance?” When a person thinks about the crypto world, after Bitcoin they think of Binance or Coinbase (the two main exchanges for first-time buyers). Binance is also one of the most secure exchanges in the industry and one of the main goals as an Angel is to educate users about protecting their funds.

A.P: The thing I liked about Binance right from the start was its Vision. Compared to many other exchanges that I’ve seen ranking number one in terms of trading volumes over the years, Binance has created a strategy to stay at the top of the charts right from the start. This plan goes through the creation of several products in addition to the exchange (see Binance Labs, Academy, etc.) and the acquisition of innovative projects. It was also among the first to propose an Angel initiative, in order to create local communities, which from my point of view has helped to sustain its success. 

What are your roles and how much time do you dedicate to Binance?

F.B: On Binance you can focus on certain “tasks”: translator, tech, meetup organizer, etc.. The minimum skill required is that of community manager on the Binance Italian chat room, which has about 7000 members.

As extra tasks, I chose to be a translator and meetup organizer. Translating allowed me to contribute to the translation of the Trust Wallet app and help Italian users to better understand all the various operations they wanted to perform. As these operations are very delicate and irreversible, they require a correct understanding (at least as far as the language is concerned).

On the community manager side, in between messages on the general chat and private messages, I dedicate an average of one hour distributed during the day. For the two extra tasks, I wouldn’t know as they are not daily activities. Organizing meetup requires at least 1 month of preparation (finding the location, the gadgets, preparing slides, etc.).

A.P: As a Binance Angel I help in the management and growth of the Italian community of Binance, moderating the various social channels and organizing events, the so-called meetups, in various Italian cities. In addition, we are given the opportunity to preview various functions of the exchange and get to know how they work. In terms of time spent, I would say that this is something that is freely manageable by the individual. As part of a team, everyone is divided into various tasks, and since we are not Binance employees, we are given a lot of freedom to manage the various tasks, which are always assigned on a voluntary basis. Being a Binance Angel has allowed me to get to know many important players in the industry, both at live events and via the internet, creating many interesting connections and learning something new every day.

What do you think about DeFi?

F.B: I think DeFi is the future. Cryptocurrencies have been “invented” to be used in a decentralized way. Binance helps to bring first-time users into contact with more simplified tools. I think we still need time before everyone moves from CEX –> DEX as it requires much more complex Blockchain/Wallet knowledge, but we’ll get there… 

Not by chance Binance has created the Binance DEX, a decentralized exchange that allows users to buy crypto assets while still holding their private key or Trust Wallet, a crypto wallet that allows storing cryptocurrencies and trading in a decentralized way in 3 simple clicks using the liquidity present on Binance DEX.

A.P: I definitely find DeFi to be the hot topic of the moment, every day new protocols and different approaches are born. I personally am having a lot of fun staking and creating specific pools on Uniswap and Balancer, I would advise anyone interested in understanding how it works to study it well and only then give it a try with small amounts. Binance is doing well listing the most important projects on the scene like Maker Dao and YFI, but there are many more interesting ones. From the technical point of view, DeFi has made the Ethereum gas fees explode, showing on one hand its immense potential, but on the other, also the need to find a solution to the problem of scalability. 

How did you become an angel? What is the procedure to follow and the necessary skills?

F.B: To become an Angel it is necessary to apply by filling out a form and sending a short video presentation in English. The minimum skills needed are obviously to know the basics of how Blockchain, transactions, blocks, swaps and trading work. It is unthinkable to provide support to users without this knowledge. The other skills are obviously patience, communication… in other words, the skills required for customer care.

A.P: The procedure to become an Angel is quite simple, it is a matter of sending an application through a form and answering a series of questions, the next steps vary over time. At first glance, the procedure is similar to a job interview, but the atmosphere is much more fun and relaxed. There are no essential skills to be an Angel, if not a great passion for the crypto world, mixed with a good dose of curiosity and desire to learn.