Binance founder CZ says Bitcoin could reach $1 million in under 25 years
Speaking Aug. 27 at Bitcoin Asia in Hong Kong, Changpeng Zhao said Bitcoin may top gold’s market value in the next bull run and hit $1 million much faster than 25 years, with utility mattering most.
Binance co-founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ) told Bitcoin Asia 2026 in Hong Kong on Aug. 27 that Bitcoin could surpass gold in market value as early as the next bull run and that a $1 million Bitcoin would be a good thing arriving much quicker than 25 years. He called Bitcoin a much better asset than gold and said it will for sure become more important, while warning that sovereign reserve adoption will take years because large countries already have entrenched gold systems. His suggested government crypto reserve mix weights the five largest non-stablecoin tokens by market cap—roughly 50% Bitcoin, 10% to 20% Ethereum, and a slice of BNB—which he admitted is somewhat self-serving. On Aug. 27 Bitcoin traded near $79,700 after gaining more than 25% the prior week, while gold climbed above $4,600; he still put gold’s market cap at about 10 times Bitcoin’s. CZ, who stepped down as Binance CEO in 2023 after pleading guilty to a U.S. money-laundering charge, argued real-world utility—scale payments and pension and national reserves—matters more than price, and said AI will lift trading efficiency about tenfold before it remakes payments, with stablecoins likely leading AI-crypto integration and data-center tokens discussed to fund multi-trillion-dollar compute buildouts.
- Bull run: A sustained period of rising prices in crypto markets when investor demand and momentum typically accelerate across major assets.
- Digital reserve asset: A scarce, liquid digital store of value that governments or institutions may hold alongside or instead of traditional reserves such as gold.
- Data center token: A proposed crypto token tied to AI compute infrastructure that could later grant holders access to compute, rewards, or model subscriptions.