ZuConnect: A Journey of Cross-Cultural Insights and Intellectual Awakening

ZuConnect changed how I think about things.

Before the DevConnect conference, ZuConnect popped up for two weeks, shown up as the second Zuzalu event. It was like this mini-city with 300 diverse people from all over the place, all different backgrounds. Getting everyone together in Istanbul, which is both gorgeous and complicated, was like stirring up a magic potion. The mix of people and the city itself was just perfect.

So, here's what I picked up from chatting with the folks there.

Seeing the World in New Ways

I interviewed 7 participants from different countries (Argentina, Bolivia, Ghana, Vietnam, Turkey, Serbia, Switzerland) from the perspective of local payment, aiming to craft a geographical landscape of crypto adoption.

Two stories really stood out. There were 2 serial entrepreneurs from Argentina and Ghana who started crypto wallet projects and then shifted to education field, like offline coding groups and Web3 online Spanish classes. They were sharp, talking about their local economies and financial systems, starting with where they're from and diving into money stuff with a clear "here's the problem, here's a solution" approach. Seeing their local payment methods was an eye-opener. It showed me that even in places without a lot of resources or fancy tech, people come up with smart ways to get by. It's really about human grit and smarts.

Please see another article of mine here:
https://ivyheretochill.xlog.app/Payment_Geography_Crypto_Adoption

Pic: ZuConnect Venue: A 5-Story Complex (Bookstore + Restaurant + Co-working Space)

East vs. West: How We Learn

My first cultural shock came during a hike in the forest with five Zuzalians from different countries and industries, including those involved in biotech longevity, philosophy, archaeology, and privacy projects. Their conversation was dense with information and frequent exchanges, endlessly stimulating and enlightening. From UFOs and Area 51 secrets to biotechnology, clone shell men, politics, Bob Dylan, archaeology, views on data privacy, and how human societies function, the dialogue kept advancing with new perspectives, invigorating as it went. Three out of five had no mobile data, yet this had no impact on their lives. They could spend almost an entire day without checking their phones, fully engaged with their companions. I found myself resisting the urge to fill the void with my phone, ending the day with 70% battery.

Another brain-buzzing moment was at a workshop about creating crypto products for places like Ethiopia, Argentina, and Turkey. The room was like a mini United Nations, with people from all over: the Middle East, South Africa, West Africa, Latin America, Turkey, Eastern Europe, and the UK, and I was the only East Asian present. The most striking aspect was how participants, even without full context, could articulate their views clearly and enter debates naturally. In contrast, I found myself speechless, able to express opinions only with prepared scripts, unable to think and speak simultaneously. This was not about language, but a lack of trained thought.
For instance, discussing Africa's development, a friend from Ghana mentioned:

"They don't care about democracy, but basic life quality, including food, drink, living shelter. Humans must survive."

And he mentioned how China's approach is gaining attention. This led to a deep discussion, with someone bringing up the idea that for a country to thrive, its people need "inclusive institutions" to kickstart a cycle of innovation, economic growth, and wider property rights.

Pic: Source: Why Nations Fail (Daron Acemoğlu): The Origins of Power, Prosperity, And Poverty

The depth of understanding of Africa did not hinder them from expressing their views, revealing the logic and critical thinking in their thought processes. If not for time constraints, they seemed capable of endless inquiry and discussion. I frustratingly realized my lack of such a thought process, echoing what Gimmy and Bone Cat felt: often speechless in dialogic and debate-style communication.

Realizing Blind Spots Through Others' Diverse Perspectives

When the topic shifted to "useful products and their success stories," the discussion unexpectedly turned to a company I hadn't anticipated: Binance.

Participants from Africa, Vietnam, and Latin America noted Binance's strengths, believing the company had invested heavily in regional insights, pragmatically offering products people truly needed, rather than promoting abstract concepts of little interest to many users. This created a win-win situation: the platform earned transaction fees, and users gained financial freedom.

"People don't care about self-custodial, they don't give you a shxx."
"People care about how to transfer money across borders easily."

An attendee from Argentina believed Binance sold a hope or dream in Argentina, like an ad saying, "Earn your salary as a kindergarten teacher by day, and make money as a crypto trader by night, earning 7*24h." It sold the beautiful expectation that ordinary people in their regular jobs could also become traders and make money.
Pic: Binance Ad - Argentine Businessman Contributing to Financial Freedom in Latin America through Binance P2P

An African participant noted Binance's focus on local needs, property ownership, and financial freedom, doing much educational and promotional work. For instance, in Nigeria, helping locals understand practical ways to achieve financial freedom in the post-pandemic economic downturn. In Telegram communities, it's common to hear Mods say: "Your money won’t disappear."

Pic: Binance's local community promotion ambassador is called 'Binance Angel,' not 'Binance Ambassador,' subtly implying a divine sense of salvation

When others discussed Binance, I again felt the bias of identity. People from the Middle East, South Africa, West Africa, and Latin America had thoroughly studied Binance's success, while the Chinese-speaking world had almost no research reports on this industry's biggest money printer (before CZ stepped down as CEO). This was strange. One reason might be "native language bias": we saw Binance as a domestic exchange, and CZ, with his Chinese face, somewhat as one of our own, thus treating him with a "peer" attitude. We tend to study those we look up to, ignoring those we see as equals or beneath us, so Binance became the elephant in the room we overlooked.

Insight: How is Self-Discovery Possible?

In a world where everyone's worried about fitting in, it's easy to just follow the crowd. But when you find a place where you feel like you belong, you start to do things you were scared to try before. That's what I felt at Shanhaiwu in August - like I could finally be myself. ZuConnect was similar. It was a chance to dive into deep conversations and learn from people like Gary and Chance about how writing can help sort out your thoughts.

Pic: Zuzalian's Co-creation Canvas

ZuConnect allowed me to engage more in "inspirational discussions" and learn from Gary and Chance about thinking through writing. These practices help clarify thoughts, turning vague ideas and feelings into a coherent text.

Pop-up city is not a novel concept; Openness vs. Quality?

The idea of escaping to the mountains for two weeks of deep talks isn't new. The Bohemian Club has been doing something like that since 1872. They meet up in California for two weeks every summer, doing secret rituals and talking about big economic and political issues. It's super exclusive.

The Bohemian Club, located in San Francisco, holds a two-week summer camp in mid-July each year at the Bohemian Grove campsite in Monte Rio, California. During this time, they conduct mysterious rituals of the Freemasons and discuss major economic and political issues. The club strictly prohibits its members from discussing these topics and activities with outsiders. The club, which was referred to as "the greatest men's party on Earth" by former U.S. President Herbert Hoover, was founded in 1872.

At the ZuConnect governance meeting, a core topic was the selection criteria for participant admission, which is quite controversial. In fact, if a selection process for elites is truly initiated, the nature of the community would closely resemble that of the Bohemian Club.

However, a high-quality community is inevitably highly scrutinized, and the selection process reduces entropy, while "permissionless" implies an increase in entropy, moving in the opposite direction.

How do we balance openness and community quality? Perhaps we cannot pursue these two contradictory goals within a single community, but there can be many pop-up cities distributed across the spectrum, each heading towards different ends of the spectrum.