Binance founder Changpeng Zhao said at the Bitcoin Asia conference in Hong Kong that Bitcoin will overtake gold as a store of value, potentially within the next bull run.
The institutional hurdle
Zhao argued the obstacle to Bitcoin replacing gold is institutional rather than technical. Large countries have established systems for valuing and holding gold, and dismantling those systems in favor of Bitcoin will take time. The market value gap between gold and Bitcoin has narrowed to roughly tenfold, he noted.
Government reserves and cryptocurrency baskets
Zhao said he regularly advises governments to build crypto reserves. His recommendation is to exclude stablecoins, select the five largest remaining cryptocurrencies by market capitalization, and weight them accordingly. This approach yields roughly 50% Bitcoin, 10% to 20% Ethereum, and a position for BNB, the token of the exchange he founded. Zhao acknowledged this recommendation is "a little bit self-serving."
AI and cryptocurrency transactions
Zhao expects artificial intelligence agents to transact in cryptocurrency, beginning with stablecoins. He has discussed token launches with major AI companies facing substantial capital demands, noting that a gigawatt of compute costs between $30 billion and $50 billion. One model under discussion involves a "data center token" that would entitle holders to rewards or compute access.
Zhao predicted trading will adopt AI before payments do, citing efficiency gains of roughly tenfold for AI-driven trading compared to human traders responding to rapid information and market movements.
Long-term Bitcoin outlook
Zhao said Bitcoin reaching $1 million "will happen," though he does not expect it to take 25 years. He emphasized that price appreciation alone is insufficient and called for Bitcoin payments to occur at scale and for Bitcoin to serve as a retirement pension and government reserve asset.
