Binance founder Changpeng “CZ” Zhao said the cryptocurrency market remains in an early stage despite its rapid expansion, arguing that digital assets, artificial intelligence and traditional finance are moving toward a single connected financial system.
Speaking as Binance marked its ninth anniversary, Zhao said crypto still accounts for less than 1% of global wealth, leaving the industry far from maturity. He described blockchain as a foundational technology rather than only a speculative market, and said its long-term role would be to power payments, settlement, identity, ownership records and automated financial activity.
His comments come as traders are watching two fast-moving themes: the rise of AI agents capable of making payments and the tokenization of real-world assets such as bonds, commodities and other financial instruments. Zhao said AI-driven payment activity could arrive within months, not years, and argued that digital assets are better suited than traditional banking rails for machines that need to send small, frequent and borderless payments.
Zhao called crypto payments for AI agents the “largest unlock point” for automation in finance, saying software systems will need a native way to exchange value without relying on slow or geographically limited payment networks. He said blockchain-based payment systems can offer direct settlement, lower friction and constant availability, all of which may become more important as AI tools begin performing more commercial tasks.
The remarks also served as a reflection on Binance’s own rise. Zhao said the company grew from a startup in 2017 to a global market leader within five months, helped by strong product performance, fast execution, an early focus on user protection and the timing of the initial coin offering boom. He also acknowledged that the company did not fully understand regulatory and geopolitical risks during its early years, calling those areas major blind spots.
Zhao says crypto is still underdeveloped
Zhao said the size of the crypto market can appear large when measured by trading volume, media coverage or token prices, but remains small when compared with total global wealth. In his view, that gap suggests the sector is still in its early phase.
He argued that blockchain should be understood as infrastructure. Rather than focusing only on whether prices rise or fall, Zhao said the technology’s larger purpose is to reduce friction in value transfer and create programmable financial systems.
That framing reflects a wider shift in the digital asset sector. In the early years, much of the public conversation centered on bitcoin as an alternative monetary system and on crypto tokens as high-risk trading instruments. More recently, the discussion has widened to include stablecoins, tokenized bonds, on-chain settlement, digital identity and automated payments.
Zhao said traditional finance and blockchain-based finance are likely to converge over time. He described that integration as inevitable, with the global economy eventually moving toward a more unified financial network.
That view does not mean the path will be smooth. Banks, payment companies, regulators and crypto firms are still working through questions around compliance, privacy, custody, consumer protection, market structure and the role of public blockchains. But Zhao said the direction of travel is clear: legacy systems and blockchain networks will increasingly interact rather than operate as separate worlds.
AI agents could change payments
One of Zhao’s strongest predictions focused on artificial intelligence. He said AI agents will soon begin making payments on behalf of users, businesses and software platforms.
AI agents are autonomous or semi-autonomous software systems that can complete tasks with limited human input. In a financial setting, they could pay for computing power, data access, software tools, digital content, logistics services or other machine-to-machine transactions. For that to work at scale, they need a payment method that can operate continuously, settle quickly and handle very small transactions.
Zhao said digital assets are the practical answer because they are native to the internet and can move across borders more easily than traditional bank transfers. He argued that AI systems will not interact efficiently with financial rails designed primarily for human users, office hours and batch settlement.
The idea is gaining attention because AI services are becoming more capable and more widely used. If software programs can search, negotiate, purchase and settle transactions automatically, payment systems may need to process far more activity than they do today. Many of those transactions may be small, frequent and global.
Traditional card networks and banks can process digital payments, but fees, chargeback rules, geographic restrictions and settlement delays may limit their usefulness for machine-led micro-payments. Blockchain networks, stablecoins and smart contracts could offer another route, though they also face challenges involving security, scalability, regulation and user experience.
Zhao said the adoption of crypto by AI agents could become a major turning point. In his view, automation will require payments that are programmable, instant and available at all times.
Cybersecurity risks may rise before they improve
Zhao also said AI will reshape cybersecurity. He warned that AI may temporarily increase the frequency and sophistication of attacks, because malicious actors can use automated tools to scan for weaknesses, generate phishing messages, write code and test systems quickly.
At the same time, he said AI will also help developers and security teams identify vulnerabilities faster. He pointed to progress in advanced AI models and said such tools could soon assist with hardening financial systems, reviewing code and detecting threats before they become major breaches.
That balance is already a major concern for digital finance. Crypto platforms, decentralized protocols and wallet providers have long been targets for hackers because digital assets can be moved quickly and are often difficult to recover once stolen. AI could make attacks faster, but it could also improve defensive monitoring and response.
For traders, the cybersecurity issue is not only technical. Security failures can affect liquidity, confidence, token prices and the reputation of platforms or protocols. As more real-world assets and AI-driven transactions move on-chain, the cost of security failures could become larger.
Zhao’s comments suggest that the next phase of the market may depend heavily on the quality of infrastructure, not only on token demand. Payment systems used by AI agents would need strong safeguards against exploits, abuse, spam, fraud and operational failure.
Stablecoins were a missed opportunity
Zhao also reflected on stablecoins, saying he underestimated their rise while leading Binance. He called that a missed opportunity.
Stablecoins are digital tokens designed to maintain a steady value, often by tracking a fiat currency such as the U.S. dollar. They have become one of the most widely used parts of the crypto market because they allow traders to move value between platforms, enter and exit positions, send cross-border payments and hold dollar-linked assets without using traditional bank accounts for every transaction.
Their growth has reshaped the industry. Stablecoins are now central to trading, decentralized finance and global crypto payments. They are also drawing close attention from governments and central banks because of their potential impact on payments, money markets and financial regulation.
Zhao said his focus has now shifted toward tokenizing real-world assets. That field aims to represent ownership of traditional assets, such as government bonds, private credit, commodities, real estate or fund shares, on blockchain networks.
The growth of tokenized assets has become one of the clearest bridges between traditional finance and crypto infrastructure. Supporters argue that tokenization can lower settlement times, improve transparency, expand market access and allow assets to be used more efficiently as collateral. Critics say many projects still depend heavily on trusted intermediaries and legal structures outside the blockchain itself.
Real-world asset tokenization gains attention
Zhao said tokenized real-world assets are showing strong progress, helped by broader participation from established financial firms. The trend has gained momentum as large institutions explore blockchain-based settlement and digital representations of traditional instruments.
Tokenized government bonds and other yield-bearing assets have attracted particular interest because they connect familiar financial products with on-chain systems. For crypto traders, such assets may offer a way to hold blockchain-based instruments linked to traditional markets. For financial institutions, tokenization may offer faster settlement and new forms of collateral management.
The sector remains young. Legal enforceability, custody, reporting, asset verification and regulatory oversight are still critical issues. A token that represents a real-world asset is only as reliable as the legal and operational structure behind it.
Still, Zhao said the broader direction is clear. He argued that traditional finance will continue to absorb blockchain tools, while crypto markets will continue to adopt products and structures from traditional finance.
That convergence may be gradual, but it is already visible in stablecoins, tokenized treasury products, crypto exchange-traded funds, institutional custody services and bank-led blockchain pilots. Traders are increasingly tracking not just coin prices, but also settlement systems, regulatory decisions and the movement of large financial firms into tokenized markets.
Binance’s early growth and blind spots
Zhao said Binance’s early success came from speed, product focus and user support. The company launched in 2017 and rose quickly during a period of intense demand for crypto trading, as ICOs brought new tokens and new traders into the market.
According to Zhao, Binance reached the top of the global crypto trading market within 150 days of launch and has maintained a leading position since. He said the company benefited from strong systems, fast listings, high liquidity and a focus on what users wanted at the time.
He also said the team paid close attention to user protection in the early period, an approach he described as central to building trust. In crypto markets, where platforms can gain or lose users quickly, reliability and responsiveness became key competitive factors.
But Zhao also acknowledged shortcomings. He said regulatory and geopolitical awareness were not strong enough in the company’s formative years. That admission is significant because crypto firms have faced increasing pressure from authorities around the world over compliance, licensing, money laundering controls, sanctions risks, consumer protection and market oversight.
Zhao stepped down as Binance chief executive in 2023 after legal and regulatory issues in the United States. Since then, he has remained one of the most closely watched figures in the crypto sector because of his role in building one of the industry’s largest companies.
Community support remains central
Zhao said Binance’s community was one of its enduring strengths. He described decentralized user groups as a source of resilience, especially when corporate structures face outside pressure.
Crypto communities often play a larger role than customer bases in traditional finance. They promote products, test tools, discuss security risks, organize local groups and help shape sentiment around platforms and tokens. In some cases, community loyalty can support a project through market downturns or regulatory challenges.
That dynamic can be powerful, but it can also carry risks. Strong communities may defend projects even when problems arise, while social media-driven enthusiasm can amplify market volatility. For traders, community behavior has become one factor in reading market momentum, especially in fast-moving digital asset sectors.
Zhao said that if he were starting again, he would still build a trading platform. He pointed to his background in market systems and exchange architecture, saying that experience shaped his approach to product design and execution.
His comments show that, despite the growth of wallets, decentralized finance, stablecoins and tokenized assets, trading venues remain central to crypto market structure. They provide liquidity, price discovery and access for millions of users. At the same time, the industry’s next phase may depend less on trading alone and more on payments, automation and real-world financial use cases.
Traders watch automation and liquidity
Zhao’s remarks point to a market increasingly shaped by automation. Software already plays a major role in digital finance through algorithmic trading, automated market makers, arbitrage bots, risk systems and on-chain smart contracts. AI agents could extend that automation from trading into payments and commercial activity.
If AI-led transactions grow, traders may pay closer attention to networks that can process high volumes of low-cost payments, stablecoins used for settlement and protocols that support programmable transactions. They may also watch wallet behavior linked to automated systems, although identifying AI-driven activity on-chain can be difficult and prone to error.
The same is true for tokenized real-world assets. Traders are monitoring whether tokenized bonds, commodities and credit products can attract sustainable liquidity rather than short-term attention. The key questions are whether these assets can operate within clear legal frameworks, maintain reliable pricing and integrate with existing financial systems.
Zhao’s broad message was that crypto’s future will not be defined only by speculation. He said blockchain, AI and traditional finance are moving toward deeper integration, with digital assets serving as payment and settlement tools for both humans and machines.
The timeline remains uncertain. Regulation, security, scalability and trust will determine how quickly that vision develops. But Zhao’s anniversary comments underline a major shift in the industry conversation: the next stage of crypto may be less about whether digital assets can exist beside traditional finance, and more about how deeply the two systems become connected.
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