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Connect the World
UNICEF To CNN: Gaza at "Point of Absolute Catastrophe"; U.S. House Speaker: Plans is to Vote Later Today on Trump Agenda; Study: World's Ice Sheets on Track for Runway Melting; "Genius Act" Initially Blocked Amid Trump Crypto Deals, Lack of Consumer Safeguards; U.S. Senate Advances Major Crypto Bill in Bipartisan Vote; Fans Trek to Spain for All-English Europa League Final. Aired 9-10a ET
Aired May 21, 2025 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[09:00:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BECKY ANDERSON, CNN HOST, CONNECT THE WORLD: Well, this is the scene on Capitol Hill, Republicans negotiating around the clock on what the
president calls his big, beautiful bill. It is 09:00 a.m. in the U.S. capital. It is 05:00 p.m. here in Abu Dhabi. I'm Becky Anderson, you are
watching "Connect the World" from our Middle East Programming Headquarters.
Also in the headlines is out Israel facing increasing international condemnation of its latest Gaza incursion. The EU calls the situation on
the ground, quote, catastrophic. And the U.S. President will welcome South Africa's President to the White House today, aiming to reset relations.
Meanwhile, in Madrid, the sanctioned Ukrainian former politician is shot dead. Details continue to emerge. Stock market in New York opens about 30
minutes from now, and if futures are any indication, we should expect a lower open tracking yesterday's fall. Back there at 09:30 Eastern Time for
the start of Wednesday's trading day.
There have been new explosions over the skies of Gaza as Israel faces increasing pressure over its incursion on the ground. This was the scene in
the early hours of Wednesday morning with blasts and smoke rising from Gaza's skyline. The U.N. says that even though Israel gave permission for
100 aid trucks to enter Gaza on Tuesday, only five of those trucks got through, and none of that aid has been distributed.
Israel says that 93 trucks crossed into Gaza on Tuesday. Officials, they would not say if any of that aid, from their perspective, has been handed
out. UNICEF tells CNN that Gaza is now, at quote, a point of absolute catastrophe, with images of starving children being live streamed to the
world.
Well, the EU says it is now reviewing its relationship with Israel, as the U.K. has paused trade talks. Jeremy Diamond following the developments from
Jerusalem for you today. And Jeremy, Israel pushing ahead with its offensive by air and on the ground. So, let's talk about what is happening
there in the enclave, please.
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Well, we are watching as the Israeli military is gradually escalating this new operation termed Gideon's
Chariots. And what it has involved so far is a serious escalation in Israeli air and artillery strikes on the Gaza Strip that have been
incredibly deadly over the course of the last several days.
In just the last several days, hundreds of Palestinians have been killed, including 82 over just the last 24 hours, according to the Palestinian
Ministry of Health. The Israeli military, for its part, says that it targeted 115 targets over the last day. We also know that there are ground
forces moving into different parts of the Gaza Strip.
There is a clear offensive happening in the southern Gaza City of Khan Yunis, where the Israeli military, in fact, confirmed this morning, the
second Israeli soldier killed in action since this operation began over the weekend. What is also clear is that this is going to be a gradual
escalation, one that is intended to put additional pressure on Hamas at the negotiating table, as those negotiations over a ceasefire and hostage
release deal are indeed still ongoing.
Effi Defrin the Israeli military spokesman saying that Hamas will face the quote, full force of our fire power, vowing to expand this operation and
establish control of more Gazan territory if Hamas does not reach an agreement with Israel that is favorable to Israel's terms. So, we are
watching as this operation is indeed escalating, and it has been a deadly one at that already in just -- first few days.
ANDERSON: Jeremy, strong concerns from the U.N. about aid not being distributed, and some extremely strong criticism slash condemnation from
Europe at the moment and threats now about what action the Europeans might take. So, let's talk aid and the impact of this mounting international
pressure, if you will.
DIAMOND: Well, it has been 48 hours now since the first aid trucks were slated to enter Gaza.
[09:05:00]
Five trucks were cleared on Monday process through the Kerem Shalom crossing, and then another 93 trucks were processed through that same
crossing yesterday. But so far, none of that aid that has entered the Gaza Strip has actually been distributed to Palestinians who are desperately in
need of that aid, in particular the food aid that is entering Gaza.
The United Nations has said that they had teams on the ground that waited several hours yesterday for Israel to grant them access to this staging
area inside of Gaza, across from the Kerem Shalom crossing where that aid is initially brought to. But the U.N. spokesman saying unfortunately they
were not able to get those supplies and bring them into United Nations warehouses, from where they would then be distributed to various points
across the Gaza Strip.
And so, there's still a lot of uncertainty about exactly what the holdup is. We know, of course, that one of the complicating factors with aid
distribution is when the Israeli military is also carrying out an offensive, as it currently is right now. And Israel tends to give
preference to that offensive, rather than to clearing the way for humanitarian aid trucks or aid workers to be able to reach those aid
trucks.
And so that certainly seems to be part of the problem at the moment. There's no question that Israel is facing growing international pressure
and condemnation, including from some of its key allies. It began this week, of course, with Canada, France and the United Kingdom issuing this
statement threatening to take concrete actions.
The United Kingdom took some actions by issuing sanctions against Israeli settlers in the West Bank, as well as pausing trade talks. The European
Union also now taking similar step, saying that it will review its trade agreement with Israel in light of these latest actions in Gaza.
But the bottom line is that time is ticking for Palestinians in Gaza who are at critical levels of hunger and food insecurity currently in the Gaza
Strip that food needs to reach them urgently in order to prevent further cases of acute malnutrition which have been on the rise, particularly among
children.
And of course, to avert all out famine, which is certainly a possibility in the coming months, if that aid doesn't actually get into Gaza and then
actually reach the people in need, Becky.
ANDERSON: Jeremy is in Jerusalem. Time there is 7 minutes past 4. It's good to have you, Jeremy. Thank you. Next hour and stay with us for this on
"Connect the World". We explore the Gaza crisis in more depth. We're going to talk about the growing international pressure on Israel with the Former
French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin.
And later in the hour, we will head to Gaza itself to hear from a doctor there, a reconstructive surgeon and Former Chief Surgeon of the ICRC.
Please do stay with us for that. Well, in the coming hours, U.S. President Donald Trump will welcome South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa to the
White House.
It comes at what is a tense time for the two nations. Mr. Trump has canceled aid to South Africa and expelled its ambassador. Just last week, a
group of white South Africans arrived in the United States after being granted refugee status. CNN's Larry Madowo has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LARRY MADOWO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): White South Africans, many of them farmers, enter the American dream. Some too young to know they've also
entered an international firestorm.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Welcome. Welcome to the United States of America.
MADOWO (voice-over): The U.S. government says it's taking in these refugees fleeing alleged racial discrimination at home.
MADOWO: That's why they opened the door for them.
CYRIL RAMAPHOSA, PRESIDENT OF SOUTH AFRICA: Yes, and they don't fit that bill. Those people who have fled are not being persecuted. The American
government has got the wrong end of the stick here.
MADOWO (voice-over): South Africa's President has come to the U.S. to set the record straight, and is expected to meet President Donald Trump
Wednesday, hoping to reset the two countries relationship. It was his signing of a controversial land seizure law in January that invoked Trump's
wrath, allowing the states to take unused farmland without compensation, if deemed just equitable and in the public interest.
South Africa's majority black population still owns just a small percentage of farms. More than 30 years after apartheid officially ended, while most
are owned by the white minority. There were 36 murders at farms between April and December last year, but only 7 of the victims were farmers,
according to police data. But President Trump calls it a quote, genocide against white farmers.
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: They're being killed, and we don't want to see people be killed. It's a genocide that's
taking place --
MADOWO (voice-over): The accusation partly stemming from this Apartheid era song made popular again by far-left opposition leader Julius Malema.
[09:10:00]
But AfriForum, the conservative white Afrikaner's lobby group, won't explicitly say there is a white genocide.
KALLIE KRIEL, CEO OF AFRIFORUM: There's a call for genocidal call. People are being killed and people are being tortured. We need to prevent this
from going further.
MADOWO (voice-over): AfriForum is described by the U.S. based Southern Poverty Law Center as a white nationalist group. They have the -- of the
U.S. Administration, but they're not leaving South Africa.
KRIEL: At AfriForum, we say our future is in Africa, because our ancestors came here more than 300 years ago.
MADOWO (voice-over): South African born entrepreneur Elon Musk has fanned the accusations against his homeland, frustrating locals.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think they are lying. There's no genocide here.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Elon Musk is overhyping the situation. There's no such genocide.
JOHN STEENHUISEN, SOUTH AFRICAN AGRICULTURE MINISTER: We mustn't mischaracterize things as a genocide. If there's no mass expropriation of
land taking place in South Africa, there's no genocide taking place.
MADOWO (voice-over): Musk reportedly wants approval for his companies to operate in South Africa.
MADOWO: Well, is Elon Musk invited when you have that face-to-face meeting?
RAMAPHOSA: Well, I don't know. They will determine whether Elon Musk is part of it or not.
MADOWO (voice-over): President Ramaphosa hopes to mend the rift and convince Trump to attend the G20 summit in Johannesburg in November. Larry
Madowo, CNN, Nairobi.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Well, let's get to the White House that Alayna Treene standing by for more on this visit. Alayna, Larry mentioning that is unclear if Musk
will be at the meeting with Trump today. We do know, as I understand it, he and Ramaphosa did meet up yesterday, so get us up to speed on that and what
we are expecting today.
ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yeah, well, actually, Becky, we have some new reporting from our colleague, Kylie Atwood. According to two
U.S. officials, Musk is expected to be part of that meeting today between President Donald Trump and the South African President Ramaphosa.
And essentially, look, I mean, this is something, this entire situation, and part of the reason there are so many people who are worried that this
meeting today, even though it's billed as a trade meeting between the two countries, it's very clear that this has so much more to do. We are
learning that the president wants to talk about racial issues.
He wants to talk about what he has argued has been persecution against white South Africans over the past few years, something, of course, that
we've heard a lot of people push back on. But there's a question of whether or not this meeting could actually descend into chaos or kind of be similar
to what happened, what devolved in that meeting in February when the President met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, that notorious
meeting where it ended up in a shouting match.
It's very unclear how talks today are going to go, but the Musk of it all is, of course, so interesting because Musk is someone who was born and
raised in South Africa. He is, of course, one of the president's closest allies. Has had so much influence in this current White House.
And he is expected to be there again, as we -- as our colleague Kylie, has reported. Now, part of this is some of these black ownership laws, as was
laid out in that package before. This is really something that has gotten under Musk's skin, and is something as well that he believes has prevented
his companies and his businesses, specifically Starlink, from operating in the country.
Now, we do know that there has been a proposal from South Africa, and, you know, endorsed by his president to potentially have some sort of deal, an
offer, really, to Musk today, to have Starlink continue to be operated, or to begin operating in the region. And so that could be kind of a goodwill
gesture.
That's how it's been described behind the scenes from Trump Administration officials, relating to how this will go. But I think the big picture here
is it's very clear that the President Donald Trump, and South Africa's President have a very tense relationship. The goal today, of course, I
think, is to try and rectify that and smooth things over.
But it's very unclear at this point. You know what will actually happen when we see him arrive here in just a couple hours.
ANDERSON: Good to have you. Thank you. Well, there is no doubt that the president will be keeping a keen eye on Capitol Hill today, happening this
hour, a marathon meeting there, not yet over. Members of a key U.S. House committee convened at what was the bleary-eyed hour of 01:00 a.m. to debate
President Donald Trump's massive tax and spending legislation, what the president himself calls his big, beautiful bill.
Even after they pulled an all nightery there is no sign yet, at least, that Republicans are close to reaching a deal on key changes to that bill yet.
Speaker Mike Johnson says the House is aiming to take it to a vote later today. Well, CNN's Congressional Correspondent Lauren Fox live on Capitol
Hill. This is the big beautiful bill.
[09:15:00]
Just explain exactly what we mean by this. This is massive.
LAUREN FOX, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, this is a massive tax and spending cut package. It also includes additional funding for
immigration and border security issues. And this is something that Donald Trump has been campaigning on for months now.
And it is also something that Speaker Mike Johnson has set a very ambitious deadline of trying to pass this out of the House by the end of this week.
Now the problem for Johnson is it is now, crunch time. So many of the very difficult decisions that they have been punting on, divisions within the
conference over how much to allow people to deduct on state and local taxes, issues about spending cuts to Medicaid programs and essential health
care program here in the U.S.
All of that has been part of these negotiations, and now it is time to make decisions about exactly what direction they're going. Now I did speak to
the House Speaker earlier today. He said he's confident that this could potentially get to the floor at the end of today. Here's what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. MIKE JOHNSON (R-LA): I think we'll be ready. We're going to put it on the floor, and I think we'll have the votes. With all the great things in
this bill, everyone's going to have a lot to go home and brag about. So, they're excited. Everybody's excited to get this thing to the finish line.
And there's a lot of energy and a lot of anticipation. So, it's a big day for us.
FOX: Coming to the floor tomorrow?
JOHNSON: We plan to do it tonight, if possible, that's my plan. So, stay tuned.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOX: And just a little bit of level setting. Right now, this House Rules Committee is trying to set the parameters of what that debate on the floor
would look like. But here's the sticking point, we still know that there are going to be further changes to this piece of legislation.
We still haven't seen what those changes are, and leadership is going to have to put all of that in writing and new legislative texts over the next
several hours and convince Republicans in the conservative wing and the moderate wing of the party to all get on board with that. If that sounds
like a lot of work in the next couple of hours, Johnson is trying to get this to the floor, it's because it is, Becky.
ANDERSON: Well, put. Thank you. Still to come, a police source sell CNN that a Former Ukrainian Politician has been shot and killed outside a
school near Madrid. And I have a live report on that for you up next. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: Well, a Spanish police source says that a former Ukrainian politician has been shot dead outside a school in a suburb just west of
Madrid. Andriy Portnov previously worked as a senior aide to pro-Russian Former President Viktor Yanukovych before his administration was ousted in
Ukraine's 2014 pro-democracy uprising.
[09:20:00]
The police source tells CNN Portnov was shot several times on Wednesday morning outside the American School of Madrid. We're journalists. Al
Goodman live in Madrid for us. And what do we know at this point?
AL GOODMAN, JOURNALIST: Hi, Becky, well, the shooting took place about 09:15 local time this morning, just outside the front door of the American
School, you see the police cars and it had the shooting itself the police tell us here on the scene, happened just over here, and then the assailants
ran out into some nearby wooded areas.
This at 09:15 this was just minutes after the students had gone into the school, about 1000 students from several dozen nationalities, not just
Americans, and the school put out a statement saying that they believe that the victim is a father of a student or more than one student at the school.
Now this is this is coming as the victim here. Mr. Portnov, was sanctioned by the United States a couple of years ago under the Magnitsky Act that was
meant to, for people who were accused of affecting, trying to affect decision making --
ANDERSON: Right, we're struggling with our communications with Al. We'll see if we can get back to him. But you got the gist of what exactly
happened outside that American School in Madrid earlier. More as we get it. Well, Russia's President has made his first visit to Kursk since Moscow
claimed to have completely recaptured the region from Ukrainian forces.
Russian state media releasing video of Vladimir Putin touring the Kursk nuclear power plant. Ukrainian troops launched a surprise incursion into
the region last August, capturing and holding the territory for months. Meanwhile, CNN has new reporting that gives a unique and horrifying view of
the front lines in Ukraine. Here's a brief and be advised, disturbing look at Nick Paton Walsh's report from Ukraine.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Arta, listen to me. Ask who the commander is -- Take the commander and kill everyone else.
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): Before even this moment of surrender, the fate of these six Ukrainian troops was sealed. Ukrainian drone images from the southern front
last November show the horror that comes after defeat. A Russian hiding in the bushes shoots one Ukrainian in the head.
Ukrainian officials gave CNN intercepts of Russian Radio orders from their commanders to their troops here.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Take them to the road.
WALSH (voice-over): We can't verify them independently, but they help paint a chilling picture of what appear to be executions to order.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Well, CNN has examined these and other drone images, G locating them and speaking to experts about Russia's motives. You can see that in
Nick's full report on this show next hour. Let's get you up to speed on some of the stories that are on our radar right now, and the sheriff who
oversees the Louisiana jail, where 10 inmates escaped, has suspended her reelection bid.
Susan Hutson, whose office is facing scrutiny, says her focus is fixing issues at the jail. The fifth inmate who escaped was recaptured on Tuesday.
Five others do remain at large. A jail maintenance worker is accused of helping them. Pope Leo has held his first general audience at the Vatican
since being elected two weeks ago.
The pontiff stopped to bless several babies as he made his way through the crowd at St. Peter's Square. Then in his address, the pope appealed to
Israel to allow aid into Gaza. Indian author Banu Mushtaq and translator Deepa Bhasthi have won the international Booker Prize for Fiction.
Their book heart lamp is a collection of 12 short stories written between 1990 and 2023 chronicling the everyday lives and struggles of women in
southern India. It is the first collection of short stories to win the award, with the pair taking home $66,000 in prize money.
Well, the world's ice sheets are on course for runaway melting, potentially leading to a catastrophic rise in sea levels, that according to a new study
by a group of international scientists who wanted to find out what level of global warming would be safe enough for the survival of the Greenland and
Antarctic ice sheets.
The most worrying finding is that even if the world manages to hit a pledge target of 1.5 degrees of warming, it likely won't be enough. Scientists
found the current level 1.2 degrees could still trigger ice sheet retreat and a dramatic rise in sea levels. The world is currently on track for up
to 2.9 degrees of warming in the next 75 years, a level which one of the scientists behind the study says will have a major impact.
[09:25:00]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JONATHAN BAMBER, PROFESSOR OF GLACIOLOGY & EARTH OBSERVATION AT UNIVERSITY OF BRISTOL: At 2.5 to 2.9 degrees, we're looking at some really, really
unpleasant consequences. And if we're talking here about sea level rise, it's quite possible that we're going to see over a meter. That's more than
three feet in old money, by 2100, potentially more than a meter.
And that does mean that there are many countries around the world that are going to experience really unavoidable and, you know, coastal flooding that
you really can't stop, you can't prevent.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Well, around 230 million people live less than a meter or just above three feet above sea level, for some context for you, that is why
that story matters more. Still to come, skeptics say they see a slow-moving car crash as a major crypto bill moves forward in the U.S. Senate.
An update on the legislation is just ahead. And Binance, what it is, how it works in the global financial industry, and is it really secure? Well, my
interview with a major player in the world of crypto as part of CNN's new series, "Intelligent Future", that is also up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: Welcome back. You're watching "Connect the World". I'm Becky Anderson from Abu Dhabi for you. Well, the U.S. Senate is advancing the
first of its kind crypto legislation, the Genius Act, as it is known, seeks to regulate cryptocurrency with a focus on stable coins, known a bipartisan
66 to 32 vote to push the bill closer to final passage.
16 Democrats voted with the majority of Republicans after initially blocking the bill, two weeks ago. They had concerns over President Trump's
cryptocurrency deals, saying the potential for corruption was high and the bill offers inadequate consumer protections.
[09:30:00]
We'll get you the opening bell on Wall Street, and I am going to let the market settle and bring you an update on trading later on "Connect the
World". But this is the bill for you, the bill, the bell for you. And USA SailGP, they're ringing in the trading day. It's Wednesday futures markets
indicating that these indices may track lower following Wednesday session.
More on that as we get it. I want to stay with crypto in the headlines, though. I have a chance to sit down with Binance's CEO, Richard Teng
earlier this month. Our conversation was the latest in what is CNN's new series, "Intelligent Future", which is focused on how technology is
revolutionizing our world today and reshaping the way that we live tomorrow. Have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Why is crypto to your mind, the future?
RICHARD TENG, CEO OF BINANCE: It is the future.
ANDERSON: What we really mean when we're talking about crypto, what's its scope? Many people will be like, you know, I've bought or sold Bitcoin, or
I thought I should have bought and sold Bitcoin and I didn't. There's a whole load of FOMO out there, of course. What are we talking about when we
talk about cryptocurrencies?
TENG: Crypto is a technology. Unlike any other technology, it's decentralized, it's trustless, it's traceable, unlike fiat money. I mean,
today you have 100 million fiat money you want to launder that. It's very easy. Crypto we can trace that, and we work with many law enforcement
agencies around the world to do that.
And it allows you to build financial infrastructure on this, any infrastructure, right? So, supply chain, for instance, tokenization of ad
real assets, et cetera. So, there are so many use cases that will come forward in that industry.
ANDERSON: Why should people care about the crypto industry?
TENG: Wow. You are seeing huge, strong momentum. You are seeing huge growth. If you talk to anybody in their 20s and 30s, their first investment
into crypto. By their time they are young adult, 70 percent of their investment is in crypto. People are using crypto to transform the world.
If you look at the current financial infrastructure globally, if you transfer funds today, it cross borders, it takes two days for it to reach
the recipient at very high cost, if you, things like crypto and stable coins, is instantaneous.
ANDERSON: But how old are your kids? My kids?
TENG: My older one is 27 young one is 20.
ANDERSON: Right. So, 27 and 20?
TENG: Yeah.
ANDERSON: -- their investments in crypto?
TENG: They have invested.
ANDERSON: Are they, heavily?
TENG: Yeah.
ANDERSON: Yeah.
TENG: I wouldn't -- I don't know how much their invest --
ANDERSON: Do they use Binance? You can track them, if they use Binance, surely can't?
TENG: -- I don't trigger and track their investments. They are responsible for their own investment decision. But, I mean, just do a research and talk
to people. I think that's the reason why, because the young adults, the youth, they know technology, they're much more savvy to them the second
nature.
ANDERSON: You've been in financial services for something like 30 years.
TENG: More on that.
ANDERSON: You've been around a long time.
TENG: Yeah.
ANDERSON: Crypto feels as if it's been around a long time, but it hasn't --
TENG: It hasn't -- 16 years.
ANDERSON: 16 years? What first attracted you to the world of crypto. How did you get involved?
TENG: So, if you think about it, the first cryptocurrency, Bitcoin whitepaper, was born out of the last big global financial crisis.
ANDERSON: 2009?
TENG: 2009.
ANDERSON: Yeah.
TENG: 2009, right. I didn't get involved in crypto until about 2017 so much later. So, in 2017 I mean, every year, I go to industry conference in Boca
Raton broader. In that addition, I noticed a lot of crypto boys. And at the point even now, I think there are a lot. Is quite new.
ANDERSON: Bros -- It's the bros.
TENG: It's the bros. So, I started talking to them, and the more I speak to them, the more fascinated I am. And I said, hey, this is going to solve a
lot of problems that have been existing for the longest time and never got solved. Financial inclusion being a big one. Instantaneous transfer being
another one.
I said, for this industry to go mainstream, you need two elements to come into play. Firstly, you need regulatory, clarity and certainty. And then
secondly, you need institutional adoption -- Regulatory certainty is very important, because you have the crypto bros, you have the early adopters,
the first 5 percent of population, but then the next 5, the next 10, 20 percent for them to come true.
[09:35:00]
They will need some clarity, how, what is this asset class? How is it going to be regulated? Secondly, asset prices are volatile, which will be the
case, right? Because if you look at the size of value of crypto, much smaller than, right? So, 30 billion asset class versus the 3 billion,
versus 300 million versus 30, the volatility will be different, right?
Because a much larger market capitalization will bring less volatility. So, it's only with institutional adoption that you're going to bring this asset
class of industry, right?
ANDERSON: And you were thinking this in 2017.
TENG: 2017.
ANDERSON: And at the time you were working.
TENG: As a regulator.
ANDERSON: As a regulator.
TENG: As the CEO of Abu Dhabi.
ANDERSON: In Abu Dhabi. Abu Dhabi global markets?
TENG: Yes, that's right.
ANDERSON: So, you had that background.
TENG: I had that background.
ANDERSON: That sort of lens, that you were coming at this --
TENG: That's right.
ANDERSON: What happened next?
TENG: So, then I, together with the team in Abu Dhabi, became one of the first in the world to develop a comprehensive framework to start regulating
crypto, to give the needed clarity that the industry needs. So, I started investing, I started buying and selling. I started experimenting.
You don't expect to be a bank regulator if you don't have a bank account, because you don't know the pain point. You don't know how banks work, et
cetera. So, I started 2017, 2018 and got two crypto accounts.
ANDERSON: -- it was Bitcoin at the time is it, that you are buying and selling.
TENG: Yeah, and some other things as well.
ANDERSON: Right. OK...
TENG: Yeah.
ANDERSON: What was your experience at the time of the market?
TENG: It was very young, very nascent. The rules were unclear. Many regulators were ignoring it because it doesn't bring about systemic risk.
They don't think it's going to last institution. Just brush it away and being very skeptical of this space. Last year, we saw a sea change in terms
of the attitude.
Firstly, with approval of ETF in the U.S., and then subsequently, many of the financial institutions that used to be skeptic as they understand this
space much better. They say, hey, this is going to be the future.
ANDERSON: I want to talk about the recent MGX investment in Binance. This is an Abu Dhabi quasi state technology company with a huge potential for
spend $2 billion the first institutional investment that you have taken at Binance. Why?
TENG: Abu Dhabi and UAE is always at the forefront of thinking and development of the future world, right? So, if you look at MGX, is AI data
center investment, advanced technology investment powerhouse. So, we're very glad that that's our first institutional, first strategic investor
into Binance for minorities taking us.
There are actually many first coming from that, that's the largest investment into the crypto industry and is the largest paid in stable coins
today, right? So, there are many firsts coming out from that, but it also shows that the future world is one that you're going to see convergence.
Convergence between traditional finance, Blockchain, crypto, AI. So, it's going to be very, very interesting.
ANDERSON: You have benefited as an industry from the interest that Donald Trump has taken in crypto. How important is it to the global crypto market
that the U.S. gets on board and gets with the program?
TENG: Very important. U.S. is the largest capital markets in the world, right? So, they account for more than 50 percent of global capital markets.
So, when the largest capital markets say, I'm going to long, go long in terms of crypto, the rest of the governments and the rest of the capital
market cannot choose to ignore that.
The second thing is really regulation. So, U.S. is going to give a lot of clarity into this space, but today, still, two thirds of global regulators
are not regulating this space. So once that comes into play, those that have crypto regulations will feel pressure to see what the U.S. has come up
with, and so probably benchmark themselves to what the U.S. has.
ANDERSON: Looking ahead, what is your vision for the crypto industry over the next five years, and how will it impact my life and the life of my
kids? And by the way, my kids are very little at the moment. They're a lot younger than yours are.
TENG: Your children will grow up in the AI and blockchain world. There's no doubt about that. For you, you experience a lot of things that are
different, right? Given that financial institutions are now embracing this space. The fees that I think you have to pay is going to be reduced
substantially because they know there's real competition out there.
The settlement period is going to be much shorter. You're going to have much more choices in terms of your investments. You're going to see a lot
more utility coming through in terms of --
[09:40:00]
So, your life will change. Your kid's life will change dramatically. They will question you, why are you buying all those traditional assets when you
can be in crypto --
ANDERSON: -- How do you shop in the past?
TENG: -- How do you live without a smartphone in the past, right? You know, so, we are going to have very different conversations going forward.
ANDERSON: If you've got this wrong, and the crypto, the future for crypto isn't what you believe it is. How damaging would that be?
TENG: We are very used to skeptics. So, for every time people say Bitcoin, crypto are dead and you put some money in there, I can assure you, you are
very happy person now.
ANDERSON: I know, I should have known you back in 2010. I should have got to know you in 2017. I should have talked to you in 2024 before the fallout
in the markets. But you're right. It's been an absolute pleasure. Thank you very much and thanks for joining us. Thank you.
TENG: Thanks for having me. Thank you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: There are two teams left standing meeting later today in the Europa League Final. My team, the Lilywhite -- spurs or Tottenham Hotspurs
to use their full name, versus Amanda Davies' beloved Red Devils, Manchester United. And Amanda will have all the excitement on the Thursday
night cup in "World Sport" after this short break. I'll be back with more "Connect the World" in 15 minutes.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[09:45:00]
(WORLD SPORT)
[10:00:00]
END
