What did Deng Weizheng and He Yi say about Abu Dhabi’s ambitions at the closed-door meeting during a rainstorm at Binance?

Token 2049 in the Storm
As the Bitcoin mining halving approached, we prepared to travel to the United Arab Emirates with apprehension. Flights were being canceled due to the escalating attacks between Iran and Israel. Fortunately, our trip was not delayed, and we safely arrived in Dubai to attend the VIP conference hosted by Binance in Abu Dhabi.
Further reading:
Bitcoin’s fourth halving is here! Complete analysis: What is halving? What does it have to do with me? Will the price of cryptocurrency rise? Will miners disappear?
However, to our surprise, it wasn’t the missiles that caused chaos to our itinerary, but a massive sandstorm in the desert.
This was the largest storm in the history of the United Arab Emirates in the past 75 years. Strong winds shattered the windows of our hotel right before our eyes, and torrential rain poured down, equivalent to a year’s worth of rainfall in just 12 hours. Dubai Airport became as impassable as the sea, with many flights circling for a long time unable to land, eventually being forced to divert to Abu Dhabi or Amman.
The roads were completely flooded, causing many cars to break down and blocking all traffic. Hotels lost water and electricity, with no food available and no way to enter or exit. Many planned activities had to be canceled because the speakers and guests couldn’t make it. Some friends heading to Dubai had to walk for hours in the flooded streets, carrying their luggage, until they reached their destination. Some were moved to tears when they finally received a bag of potato chips from a kind-hearted person distributing them on the roadside after walking for ten hours. The paralyzed city felt like a living hell, making everyone shout, “Never again!”


The United Arab Emirates experienced its largest storm in 75 years in April, with a year’s worth of rainfall in just 12 hours, making Dubai Airport as impassable as the sea.
Binance closed-door meeting, what did Richard Teng say?
Fortunately, compared to our friends whose itineraries were all in Dubai, we were extremely lucky. At the time of the incident, we were in Abu Dhabi, conducting closed-door meetings at our hotel. Top trading teams from around the world and many important guests were gathered together, including representatives from Abu Dhabi and our gracious host, the founder of Binance, Helen Hai. Over the course of three days, we had intensive discussions that sparked many ideas, and the content of the meetings was truly remarkable.
The opening speech was given by Richard Teng, the current CEO of Binance and former CEO of the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) Financial Services Regulatory Authority. He shared deep insights on the approval and ongoing promotion of cryptocurrency ETFs, aiming to make cryptocurrencies an integral part of the future world economy. Binance also presented concrete plans and solutions. As the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, they naturally have the ambition to become a leader in the future world economy. And our purpose in being invited was to collaborate together to make it happen.
Several official entities from Abu Dhabi participated, and their attitude was very positive. Their high, open-minded approach was admirable. We were invited to attend a VIP networking event they were hosting two days later near the Dubai Marina Hotel.
From food to clothing, observing Abu Dhabi’s ambitions
When people mention the United Arab Emirates, many think of Dubai, but they may not be familiar with Abu Dhabi, the true elder brother. It is bigger and wealthier than Dubai, but it remains low-key. Just like the themed French molecular cuisine dinner arranged by the organizers that night, each of the seven courses was named after one of the seven cities in the United Arab Emirates.
The first appetizer was named Dubai, a thin pancake with cream, topped with a large sheet of gold leaf. It was the first time in my life that I had the opportunity to taste the flavor of gold leaf so carefully… As for Abu Dhabi, it was the second-to-last main course—tender and juicy roasted lamb knee with truffle potatoes. It was simple yet exquisite.


In fact, the differences between these two cities can be clearly distinguished from their clothing and speech backgrounds. Abu Dhabi is actually a traditional financial center, with people wearing traditional robes, headscarves, or suits, while Dubai represents Web3 projects, with people wearing T-shirts. Abu Dhabi’s determination to become the future world financial center can be seen in every aspect.


Interacting closely with Helen Hai, the presence of the founder of Bridgewater Associates
The highlight of the agenda was the presence of Helen Hai, the founder of Binance, also known as the “Sister of the Crypto World.” I was amazed and moved by the opportunity to interact with her up close. Contrary to the image of a typical entrepreneur or powerful businesswoman, she appeared to be an educator and a mother. When it came to discussing her children’s education, her eyes immediately lit up, and she enthusiastically shared her ideas for ten minutes. Speaking about the future, she said, “We come into this world to leave something behind.” Binance is her child, and through her, I could see her contemplation on how to create a giant for the future.
Moreover, outside of the agenda, they arranged a mysterious guest at 12:30 noon, none other than Ray Dalio, the founder of Bridgewater Associates and author of the book “Principles.” His appearance instantly put everyone in fan mode. He was like a philosopher, discussing the nature of money, from the history of human currencies to gold, the US dollar, and today’s cryptocurrencies. What is the essence of money? How do we measure its value? Unfortunately, I couldn’t take photos or record videos; otherwise, I would have loved to share it with everyone.


Interestingly, he mentioned that he has never bought any cryptocurrencies to this day, and even questioned why we should buy them. This sparked even more thoughts and ideas among the participants. The experience was truly exhilarating!
Although we also encountered hotel flooding and had to switch to another one in Dubai, as well as traffic paralysis and drivers taking advantage of the situation to increase prices, we had already connected with key figures and didn’t need to search for needles in the sea anymore. Moreover, in this private meeting, we were the only Taiwanese participants and only one Hong Kong participant. There were no Japanese or Korean attendees. About 80% of the participants were from Europe and the United States. Before boarding the plane, I stood on the outdoor terrace of the 152nd floor of the tallest building in the world, the Burj Khalifa, watching the sunset over the Persian Gulf. I felt lucky but also deeply aware of the great responsibility ahead.
Richard Teng once said that Taiwan has top-notch technical talent and an open-minded mindset, making it a great opportunity in the global financial revolution of cryptocurrencies and blockchain. This is something we have always believed in. I also want to prove that Taiwan is not just about TSMC and NVIDIA. As long as we grasp the direction of the trend, we can stand at the top of the world.
Further reading:
Unveiling the OKEx and Binance VIP banquets! Understanding the secrets of successful top exchanges
Opinion articles present diverse views and do not represent the stance of “WEB3+.”
Proofreading and editing: Gao Jingyuan