Canadian CEO and Binance founder Changpeng Zhao says cryptocurrency is giving people access to the world financial system who previously had none.
Zhao, who is commonly known as "CZ," made the comments while appearing on the Bankless podcast, hosted by David Hoffman and Ryan Sean Adams.
Asked by hosts David Hoffman and Ryan Sean Adams what he would say if he were invited to speak to the United Nations about his vision for Binance and the promise of cryptocurrency, CZ said both are giving financial tools others take for granted to people who otherwise wouldn't have them, allowing them to borrow and store capital.
"There are many, many people without financial access," CZ said. "People in less-developed countries, it can take them days to pay a bill. They don't have access to loans. They don't have access to many, many of the financial tools that we in the developed world are quite used to."
During the podcast, CZ highlighted a company that provides loans to women in Africa who want to start businesses, but who don't have access to traditional financial services.
"(African women) have the lowest default rate of any loan business on the planet," he said, noting that many of the women "run very simple businesses that do make money, and they're able to return the loans in a period of time, and this really helps their lives."
CZ said that blockchain technology-- or digital databases containing information, such as financial records, that can be both used and shared within a large decentralized, publicly accessible network-- plays a critical role in enabling Binance to ensure funds can reach individuals without banking access in the developing world.
In a recent Binance blog post, CZ wrote that he has been spending a lot of time in Africa working to expand the use of blockchain technology and increase access to financial services.
Africa "has huge potential in the long term because of the population and because many don't have access to banking," according to the blog post. "They're kind of financially excluded right now. We’re trying to give them that access."
The blog post also highlighted Binance Charity, the philanthropic arm of the company, and the work it does to provide blockchain and crypto-related education around the world.
"When you teach somebody to fish, you help them for life.. education is long-term," he said, adding crypto also serves as a way to quickly provide aid to those in need. "For example, when there's an earthquake or a war, we need to deploy funds very quickly, as people need immediate help."
Approximately 1.4 billion people around the world are "unbanked," or do not have bank accounts or access to traditional financial tools, according to a report from The World Bank. "Unbanked" individuals are frequently women, people living in poverty or in remote areas, or people who have received only minimal education.