Ran NeuNer, CEO of OnChain Capital and CNBC Africa-based Crypto Trader’s showrunner, recently sat down with a number of prominent industry guests to talk all things crypto. While NeuNer spoke with notable guests like VanEck’s Gabor Gubacs and Roger Ver, most notably, the South African entrepreneur cut out some time to sit down with Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao to get a much-needed insider scoop on a multitude of subjects.

Binance CEO: I Don’t Know What Will Catalyze A Bull Run, But It Will Happen

After discussing Binance’s current prospects for a number of minutes, NeuNer got down to the nitty-gritty, asking Zhao, better known as CZ, what catalysts could be a precursor to this nascent market’s next bull run.

The Binance executive, remaining cautiously optimistic, responded with truth, adding that the question NeuNer asked was “tough” and that he “doesn’t really know [how] to predict which one (catalyst) will be the trigger.”

Referencing his multiple years of experience in this industry, Zhao then noted that in 2016, no one, not even he, was able to predict that ICOs were poised to see a Cambrian-esque period of growth, which subsequently catalyzed the widespread FOMO seen with retail investors during 2017’s jaw-dropping run.

Taking a brief tangent, the crypto-centric CEO added that the cooling of the ICO market is a “healthy” sign, as it pushes for projects to actually produce proper products, services, and tokens to entice investors.

Doing his best to take a stab at NeuNer’s question, Zhao then noted that the arrival of institutions “may be a really strong trigger,” drawing attention to the launch of regulated stablecoins and institutional products, like Fidelity Digital Asset Services or Bakkt, for example. But still, seeing that prices haven’t moved, even with the establishment of these startups, Binance’s CEO added that he would be hard-pressed to pinpoint a specific event or product.

Still, Zhao, concluding his take on the question, said that “something will trigger” a bull run, “sooner or later.”

Zhao’s bullish sentiment comes amid reports that a growing number of analysts and industry leaders are calling for a bottom and a subsequent rebound in the crypto market.

What’s Binance’s Secret Sauce?

Aiming to get further insight, one of CNBC Africa’s showrunners went on to ask the chief executive at Binance about the startup’s “secret sauce,” so to speak — or what allows the Malta-based startup to remain at the top of this industry for extended periods of time.

Turning the question on its head, CZ noted that “there isn’t a secret recipe,” explaining that Binance “may have gotten lucky in its early days.” As the executive explained, this luck, combined with its decent exchange product and customer service staff, and the industry’s low benchmarks (at the time), allowed Binance to catapult itself to the peak of this industry.

TItle Image Courtesy of Sam Valadi via Flickr