CZ at Davos: Crypto Will Become the Native Currency of AI Agents

The prediction reflects growing industry interest in the intersection of AI and blockchain, as autonomous systems increasingly require seamless, programmable payment infrastructure.

Tokenization and Payments Round Out Top Three

Beyond AI, CZ pointed to tokenization and payments as major growth areas. On tokenization, he revealed active engagement with multiple governments.

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“I’m currently in discussions with over a dozen governments on asset tokenization strategies, where governments can generate early financial returns and catalyze upgrades across mining, trading, and other sectors,” he said.

Payments, however, remain an unsolved challenge. “We’ve tried, but haven’t yet cracked it,” CZ admitted. “To be precise, cryptocurrencies haven’t meaningfully entered the payments space.”

Still, he sees progress in hybrid solutions that combine traditional payment rails with crypto infrastructure—consumers swipe cards while crypto is deducted from their wallets, and merchants receive fiat settlement. “Once those bridges are built, payments will undergo a major transformation,” he predicted.

Binance by the Numbers

CZ provided context on Binance’s current scale, highlighting metrics that underscore crypto’s mainstream arrival.

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The exchange serves 300 million users globally—a figure CZ noted “likely makes it larger than any bank I know of.” Trading volume not only surpassed that of the Shanghai Stock Exchange but also exceeded that of the New York Stock Exchange last year.

He also pointed to the platform’s resilience during market stress. In December 2023, following the FTX collapse and other industry turmoil, Binance processed $7 billion in single-day withdrawals without disruption. Total withdrawals that week reached $14 billion while the platform remained fully operational.

“In the banking system, I’m unaware of any bank capable of withstanding withdrawals of that magnitude,” CZ said, attributing the difference to crypto’s full-reserve model versus traditional fractional-reserve banking.

What Won’t Survive

CZ also offered candid assessments of what may not last.

Bitcoin payments, despite a decade of effort, have shown little progress. “If you’d asked me this question ten years ago, I’d have said Bitcoin payments. But today, a decade later, we’re still nowhere close,” he said.

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Memecoins face similar skepticism. “I have a strong hunch memes may follow a similar trajectory” to NFTs, which “exploded in popularity—and then faded dramatically.” While culturally resonant projects like Dogecoin may persist, “I believe most memecoins won’t last.”

Physical bank branches also face decline. “Demand for physical bank branches will decline sharply,” CZ predicted, citing the maturation of electronic KYC and digital financial services.

Regulatory Landscape

On regulation, CZ noted that crypto rules vary dramatically worldwide. Binance holds 22-23 licenses globally, yet most countries still lack formal frameworks.

He advocated for regulatory “passports” that recognize licenses granted in one jurisdiction by others—a more achievable step than creating new global regulators.

“Crypto is fundamentally the same everywhere. We shouldn’t need to adapt it per jurisdiction,” he said.