CZ: Bitcoin Will Reach $1 Million Faster, Needs Payment Adoption
Binance founder Changpeng Zhao stated at the Bitcoin Asia 2026 in Hong Kong that Bitcoin will reach $1 million faster than 25 years; however, practicality, especially for large-scale payments and inclusion in retirement pension reserves, is more lacking than price. He believes these changes will occur within 25 years and considers Bitcoin will eventually be more important than gold, with the current market cap gap being about ten times, and the next bull market may close that gap.
He described tokenized assets as beneficial for both Bitcoin and the entire industry, rather than a zero-sum game. Those who understand Bitcoin will look at other chains and tokens; those entering through stock tokenization will eventually see Bitcoin. He cited the difficulty for Asians to open U.S. stock brokerage accounts, with few able to trade during the limited hours from 11 PM to 4 AM. Tokenization lowers the barriers, allowing buyers to enter through crypto platforms and gain exposure to Bitcoin that they previously lacked, creating a cumulative effect. This benefits tokenized stocks, traditional markets, and Bitcoin alike.
On regulation, he believes that only a few countries have a real crypto framework, and there are few people in government who understand Bitcoin. Many countries are led by an older generation that is more accustomed to traditional media and has a negative view of crypto, making them slower to adopt new technologies. He feels a shift is happening: leaders no longer deny that this is new technology that needs to be adopted, but biases still exist; the number of explainers is increasing. In recent years, the focus has been on centralized exchanges, with many countries then turning to stablecoins due to unclear U.S. regulations. He generally advises countries to establish crypto reserves and issue their currencies as stablecoins to capture local currency liquidity on-chain.
In terms of reserve allocation, he suggests allocating by market cap among the top five crypto assets (excluding stablecoins) beyond the U.S. dollar, with Bitcoin typically over 50%, Ethereum around 10% to 20%, and others like BNB also included. He also mentioned tokenization of rare earths, real estate, artworks, and intellectual property, seen by some countries as a way to attract cross-border funds and allow foreign buyers to acquire domestic assets. Trump opened the door for crypto in 401(k) plans in August 2025, and in March of the same year, an executive order included seized coins in strategic Bitcoin reserves. During the conference, Bitcoin was around $79,700, having risen over 25% last week, while gold surpassed $4,600.
In market mechanisms, this is a funnel narrative, not a new trading pair. Buyers include Asian retail investors lacking U.S. stock accounts, sovereign funds needing to build reserves, and treasuries wanting to issue local currency stablecoins; sellers are traditional brokers with time zone mismatches and the gold reserve system that still views crypto as a counterparty. Funding expectations shift from unmet stock demand into crypto platforms, then towards Bitcoin exposure. Beneficiaries are platforms that simultaneously facilitate tokenized stocks and Bitcoin entry; those under pressure are countries that only defend the gold narrative and do not issue local currency stablecoins, as well as single-asset fundamentalists who view multi-chain as zero-sum. The event-driven aspect ties together the million-dollar target, pension funds, and stock tokenization into a single transmission chain.
Source: Public Information
ABAB AI Insight
Zhao has shifted the focus from price to a byproduct. The million-dollar target is framed as a matter of time, while the real agenda is large-scale payments and pension access. The opening of 401(k) plans and U.S. strategic reserves has moved the latter from fantasy to policy. The tenfold gap with gold serves as a benchmark for the next bull market: it’s not about technology surpassing, but whether reserve accounts are willing to change labels.
The capital pathway is through import ports, then importing reserves. Stock tokenization first addresses the issue of Asian buyers opening U.S. stock accounts and time zone challenges, requiring users to go through crypto platforms, which then bring Bitcoin into the same view. Stablecoins act as the cash leg, while national reserves provide ballast. His formula for sovereign reserves is simple: exclude stablecoins, allocate by market cap among the top five, and Bitcoin naturally exceeds half. This is not asset allocation theory; it translates exchange rankings into central bank menus, allowing BNB a chance to enter the official basket.
The analogy is how gold transitioned from jewelry to Bretton Woods reserves, and how the dollar locked liquidity through oil settlements. PayPal and Cash App have attempted to make Bitcoin payments mainstream but have not succeeded; once the pension channel opens, buying will occur through monthly salary deductions, not thematic rotations. The current phase is expansion: the discussions around stock tokenization, stablecoin licenses, and national reserves are all heating up, marking a window for infrastructure over the next decade.
Structural judgment indicates a transfer of pricing power. Whoever controls the "alternative accounts for buying U.S. stocks" will dictate the order of Asian savings entering dollar assets and Bitcoin. The mechanism is that traditional brokers use licenses and time zones to keep buyers out; tokenization dismantles these barriers with wallets; once barriers are removed, traffic first flows through crypto platforms, giving Bitcoin passive exposure. If a country only regulates exchanges and does not issue local currency stablecoins, on-chain liquidity will continue to be denominated in dollar stablecoins. He defines the ecosystem as mutually supportive, rather than one chain eliminating another.