Binance co-founder Changpeng "CZ" Zhao said Bitcoin(BTC) could overtake gold in market value next bull cycle as reserve preferences shift, despite gold’s market cap being about 10 times large
Binance co-founder Changpeng "CZ" Zhao said Bitcoin(BTC) could overtake gold in market value next bull cycle as reserve preferences shift, despite gold’s market cap being about 10 times larger.
- Bitcoin gained more than 25% last week before Zhao made his gold comparison.
- Zhao said reserve systems built around gold would make any shift toward Bitcoin gradual rather than immediate.
- He expects stablecoins and AI-assisted trading to help expand crypto use before AI-driven payments.
Zhao made the prediction on Aug. 27 at Bitcoin Asia 2026 in Hong Kong, where he described a potential reserve shift rather than a simple price contest. He said gold’s established valuation, trading and reserve systems give it structural advantages that Bitcoin cannot replace quickly. The gap remains large.
“Major countries have built complete valuation, reserve, and trading systems around gold, so a shift to bitcoin will not happen overnight,” Zhao said. He added that sovereign reserve allocations could eventually tilt toward digital assets, with Bitcoin representing more than 50% of strategic crypto holdings alongside Ethereum(ETH) and BNB(BNB).
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Zhao’s argument matters because it assumes Bitcoin could gain a larger role in national reserves and institutional portfolios, not merely post another speculative rally. Gold still has the deeper global market and established reserve infrastructure, while Bitcoin would need sustained adoption to close the roughly tenfold capitalization gap. That would require a major reallocation of capital.
He also linked wider crypto adoption to artificial intelligence, saying stablecoins are likely to become the first digital assets used broadly by AI systems.
“I think it will probably start with stablecoins,” Zhao said. “Once you can accept stablecoins, adding bitcoin will be very easy.”
Zhao expects AI-assisted trading to develop before AI-driven payments because trading depends on rapid information processing, news reaction and chart analysis.
“No matter how you trade, AI can likely increase efficiency tenfold,” he said, while noting that consumers can already handle many routine payments with conventional cards.
Bitcoin entered Zhao’s comments after a sharp rebound, gaining more than 25% last week while gold moved above $4,600. On Aug. 27, Bitcoin traded near $79,700 and was up about 1.5% over 24 hours, according to The Block. The move followed a broader crypto market recovery.
