Binance’s Chief Technology Officer, Rohit Wad recently shared why he decided to make the leap to crypto and blockchain, and the projects that “excite” him.
Rohit noted that before the COVID-19 pandemic, his mother “didn’t even use credit cards.” He added that now, she knows “how to shop online, and she’s even asked [him] about this Bitcoin thing.”
He also mentioned that it was “an odd moment” for him. That’s because his mother—”someone from an older generation— [began] asking about cryptocurrencies.”
Although Rohit found the question from his mother “surprising,” moments like this “made him realize: crypto is here, it’s hit the mainstream, and people across generations are talking about it.”
Rohit goes on to quote Mayur Kamat, Binance’s Head of Product:
“Would you rather watch from the outside or work on the inside to help shape this growing industry?”
Before the days of YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram, Rohit “worked on early Microsoft projects like Excel and Sharepoint, which are still used today.”
From there, Rohit “helped grow Facebook’s Seattle office from around 100 engineers to over 1000 in four years.” At Google, he “spearheaded a startup team of ten engineers to build a product that enabled people to compare and find the right home mortgages.”
As Corporate Vice President at Microsoft, “his most recent role, he oversaw product and engineering for consumer communications: Skype, Groupme, and Microsoft Teams.”
Rohit’s work has “always seen him push the boundaries of technological possibility.” His long list of accomplishments “speaks for itself—going back to the first years of Web1—and now he has his sights on a new challenge.”
At present, Rohit “finds himself at the crossroads of yet another technological revolution: the world of crypto, blockchain, and Web3.”
He added that “crypto. It’s just going to happen. It’s just a matter of time. Each revolution has come faster than the one before.”
As Rohit reflects on past technological revolutions, he “references the heydays of Blockbuster—a relic of the 2000s.”
As mentioned in the update, “could you imagine telling someone back then about this thing called Netflix, a service that would let you watch any movie or tv show on your tv, computer, or phone?”
As noted in a blog post, “as a lover of innovation and creating solutions, Rohit’s decision to leave his Web2 career and start a new chapter as the Chief Technology Officer at Binance was simple.”
Like how Netflix brought movies and tv shows to people globally, “he aims to bring the benefits of Web3, cryptocurrency, and blockchain to everyone.”
At Binance, Rohit “hopes to engineer scalable, compliant, and fast Web3 services and solutions that will welcome the next billion crypto users.” Beyond Web3, he “wants to ensure that Binance continues to be the most secure, fastest, and liquid exchange in the world.”
All the while, Rohit will be “building out his team into a group of world-class builders who exemplify all of Binance’s values.”
The update also mentioned that the “one thing that’s completely surprised Rohit is that ‘everything is bang on time at Binance’.”
If someone “schedules a meeting for eight o’clock in the morning—the call starts ringing at 8:00:00, and not a minute or second late.”
Rohit “credits CZ, [their] founder and CEO, as a big reason behind Binance’s culture of getting things done, or as [they] like to call it —’Being Hardcore.'”
Rohit also shared:
“CZ sets the tone with how he works. Not to mention, his high-level knowledge of crypto allows him to make important decisions that would take other people weeks to process.”
Outside of CZ, Rohit has “found Binance’s flat organization a refreshing transition.”
Rohit has found that his colleagues “also possess a strong sense of ownership.” Wherever there’s an issue, “someone is always available to step up and resolve the issue.”
He adds:
“Web3 and traditional tech companies that started in Web2 (like Amazon and Microsoft) will continue to coexist within their own spheres, or pockets, of innovation.”
Rohit believes that the blockchain and crypto industry “will bring tremendous innovation across industries.”
He continued:
“It’s how we move money, how someone gets paid, and how we record transactions. These will definitely get dramatically improved and reshaped by our industry.”
He acknowledges that “the giants of Web2 aren’t just going to disappear” and that “the Amazons and Microsofts will continue to build state-of-the-art solutions, but within their innovation sphere.”