Bitcoin could overtake gold as soon as the next bull run, Binance founder Changpeng Zhao said Thursday while speaking in Hong Kong.
Zhao made the remarks during a Bitcoin Asia session titled "The Bitcoin Century," when he was asked whether Bitcoin could outrank bullion for sovereign holders. "I think Bitcoin will, for sure, become more important than gold," he said.
Institutional structures, not technology, are the main hurdle
Zhao said the obstacle to Bitcoin overtaking gold is institutional rather than technical. Large countries already have systems for valuing gold and holding it on their books, and replacing that apparatus takes years.
For those countries to "shift into Bitcoin," he said, more time is needed, but he believes the move will happen. He added that the gap in market value between gold and BTC has narrowed to roughly tenfold.
"I think Bitcoin will overtake gold pretty soon," Zhao said. "In the next bull run, it could happen." He also called Bitcoin "just a much better asset than gold," while joking that longtime Bitcoin critic Peter Schiff would disagree.
Zhao's proposal for government crypto reserves
Zhao told the audience that he routinely advises governments to build crypto reserves. His recommendation, he said, is "pretty simple and it's a little bit self-serving." The approach is to remove stablecoins, take the five largest remaining cryptocurrencies, and weight them by market capitalization.
Using that method, the allocation would come out to roughly 50% Bitcoin, 10% to 20% Ethereum, and a share for BNB, the token of the exchange he founded.
AI agents, token launches, and data center funding
Zhao said he expects AI agents to transact in crypto, with stablecoins likely to come first. Once a system accepts stablecoins, he said, adding Bitcoin is straightforward.
He also said he has discussed token launches with several top-tier AI companies. According to Zhao, those firms face capital needs that their valuations cannot cover. He put the cost of 1 gigawatt of compute at somewhere between $30 billion and $50 billion, and said some companies want hundreds of gigawatts within a few years, pushing the funding requirement into the trillions of dollars.
One structure being discussed is a "data center token" that could later give holders rewards or access to compute. Zhao said the idea could also be expanded to include subscriptions and model access.
Why trading may adopt AI faster than payments
Zhao argued that trading will adopt AI before payments do. In consumer payments, he said, an agent may find a deal, but the buyer can still complete the purchase alone.
Trading is different. "You have to gather a lot of information very quickly. You have to react very quickly to news," he said, estimating the efficiency gain at roughly tenfold.
Bitcoin at $1 million, but utility matters more
Zhao ended his remarks with a price outlook, saying Bitcoin reaching $1 million "would be a good thing, and it will happen." He added that he does not think it will take 25 years.
"It's going to happen much quicker, but more than price, I think we need a lot more utility," he said. "I think we need Bitcoin payments to happen on a massive scale. I think we need Bitcoin to be a retirement pension fund reserve. It will get there."
Zhao stepped down as Binance chief executive in 2023 after pleading guilty to a U.S. money laundering charge.