The CEO of the largest cryptocurrency exchange by volume is analyzing the likelihood that Bitcoin will edge out gold as the primary store-of-value asset.
In an interview on Channel News Asia, Changpeng Zhao also known as “CZ” of Binance, discusses Bitcoin’s current rise and asserts that the leading cryptocurrency can replace gold, which is an asset with a market capitalization of $10 trillion.
“It’s bound to happen. It’s inevitable. I think Bitcoin is compared to gold in a lot of ways. It does have a lot of the properties of a store of value, but it has so many other advantages. Gold is not very divisible. If you want to sell half of a gold bar, it’s kind of hard. If you want to sell half of a gold ring, it’s kind of hard.
Gold is not very easy to transfer, you have to meet somebody physically to actually transfer the gold. It’s relatively heavy, if you have to carry it around airports, that’s really freaky as well. It’s hard to store. You have to have physical space.
It’s not easy to verify. You don’t know the density of the gold you’re getting, whereas with Bitcoin you’re always guaranteed that if you get some Bitcoin, you get some Bitcoin. And gold is not 100% limited supply. It’s rare but if somebody discovers another gold mine there could be more supply. And Bitcoin is very limited [in] supply. The way I view it is gold is a very good store of value, but it’s use case is sunsetting… Bitcoin’s definitely the future.”
When asked whether or not Bitcoin’s volatility could hinder its ability to also replace paper fiat currencies, CZ asserts that in many ways, BTC’s price fluctuations can be chalked up to growing pains.
“The high volatility is really correlated to the lower market cap. Bitcoin is only about $300 billion of marketcap, whereas compared to fiat there’s close to a few hundred or a few thousand trillion dollars in circulation. So I think [the volatility] is just a function of the market size. I don’t think this prevents it from growing. In fact, it gives it more room to grow.”
In terms of his short-term price predictions for Bitcoin and whether or not it can break $20,000 before 2021, CZ hints that he would not be surprised by such a move.
“I don’t want to make predictions, but I’m always very bullish. I’m always very optimistic.”
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