CZ says bitcoin could surpass gold in next bull market

Binance co-founder Changpeng "CZ" Zhao said bitcoin could overtake gold in market value during the next bull cycle. Zhao said gold's market capitalization is about 10 times larger than bitcoin's. Zhao said closing that gap would reflect a broader shift in how investors view reserve assets. Zhao said the shift will not happen overnight because major countries have valuation, reserve, and trading systems built around gold. Zhao said sovereign reserve allocations will eventually shift toward digital assets. He said bitcoin could represent more than 50% of strategic crypto holdings alongside assets such as Ethereum and BNB. Bitcoin gained more than 25% last week. Gold climbed above $4,600. Bitcoin traded around $79,700 on Thursday, up 1.5% over 24 hours, according to The Block's BTC price page. Zhao said artificial intelligence and crypto integration will likely begin with stablecoins. He said AI-assisted trading will develop before AI-driven payments because trading requires rapid analysis and execution, while consumers can already complete many payments with conventional cards. Zhao said AI can likely increase trading efficiency tenfold.