Changpeng "CZ" Zhao said Bitcoin will reach $1 million and that the move will take less than 25 years, speaking during "The Bitcoin Century" at a two-day conference in Hong Kong. He also predicted Bitcoin will eventually become more important than gold, whose market capitalization he estimated at about 10 times Bitcoin's, and said Bitcoin could account for more than 50% of strategic crypto holdings alongside Ethereum and BNB. Bitcoin remained below its October 2025 peak of more than $126,000 after closing below $65,000 on August 18 and $79,000 on August 28, according to Coin Metrics. CryptoQuant said Bitcoin's Bull Score index had risen to 80 from 30 and identified a daily close above the 365-day moving average near $83,000 as confirmation of a new bull-market phase. Zhao also praised the UAE's crypto rules, said Hong Kong was moving quickly, and described his advocacy as contributing slightly to the UAE's recognition of Bitcoin as a store of value. His comments came after a 2023 U.S. anti-money-laundering guilty plea, a four-month sentence in 2024 and a presidential pardon from Donald Trump in October 2025.