Catherine Coley: From Morgan Stanley to Relentlessly Running Binance U.S.

Host Tom Shaughnessy talks to Catherine Coley, CEO of Binance.US. They discuss Binance.US’s origin story, how Catherine made the switch from traditional finance to digital assets, how she sees them differing, and more.

Key Points:

1. The scale of digital assets is wildly different from traditional finance.
2. Digital assets allow users to have more agency and voice in their financial choices.
3. Being in crypto gives you an expanded skillset and toolbox.

Episode Highlights:

• They are recording on the day the US stock market dropped 1,000 points, but it feels different from the crash in 2008.
• Binance.US offers an opportunity for Americans to get into digital assets through dollar onramps, over 30 coins, and more.
• Binance.US only launched 166 days ago.
• A high concentration of traditional finance professionals have moved into crypto and digital assets.
• People who appreciate efficiency are drawn to digital asset management.
• Technologically, what an exchange has to deal with on a daily basis is huge, but when you compare it to trades at Morgan Stanley or something comparable, it’s a matter of $20 million vs $600 million.
• There is a fear that the US will lose out on talent because our regulations are so strict that they constrain innovation.
• By virtue of coming into the game late, Binance has the advantage of having a clear view of the market and what the gaps are.
• We have a lot of time before we have to worry about the consolidation of the crypto space to mimic Wall Street.
• Binance is also involved with staking and governance.
• Their goal is to allow a wide range of users to access staking and trading at various levels of complexity to fit their needs.
• Binance.US has a referral program that sets it apart from other platforms.
• Catherine is only interested in Binance.US building features and products that her customers are interested in.
• Current society keeping money as a taboo conversation topic prevents people from gaining the confidence to handle their own finances.
• While Catherine was at Morgan Stanley, she watched the pipeline of traditional analysts and traders dry up and they lost people to Square and Twitter, which led her to realize she had to be fluent in tech in addition to finance.

Key Points:

1. The scale of digital assets is wildly different from traditional finance.
2. Digital assets allow users to have more agency and voice in their financial choices.
3. Being in crypto gives you an expanded skillset and toolbox.

Tweetable Quotes

• “The quality of service that you receive at Morgan Stanley or Goldman Sachs is one that should be democratized and shared with all. So I think that’s a positive that you’d see the quality of research be able to go further downstream.” –Catherine Coley
• “There’s a part of me that goes, ‘Would trader Coley really be pleased right now?’ The answer is usually no, we’ve got to do more. So that keeps me pushing forward to improve the product, to improve the expe