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CZ says AI will push crypto payments mainstream
Binance’s co-founder and former CEO, Changpeng Zhao (CZ), has a simple perspective on AI: It will be used to pay for things on behalf of users, and crypto is the best form of money for that purpose.
Of course, he has a personal interest in that scenario becoming a reality, given that he ran the world’s largest crypto exchange, but he’s not alone in harboring this perspective, as evidenced by the hordes of companies rushing to build payments infrastructure for AI agents.
He views the technology playing the role of infrastructure rather than singular products, a similar lens that was applied to crypto in 2017. "Crypto and blockchain are one of the three fundamental technologies in my life. The other two being the internet and AI” CZ said during Binance's ninth anniversary event on Tuesday, which was aired on StrataMedia's Talking Tokens podcast.
CZ’s payments thesis ties into how AI agents can already search for the best hotels and flights. But he holds that the next step of actually booking those flights and hotels is closer than most people realize. "I think crypto AI will eventually handle payments for us," he said. "That's gonna come very soon, within months. Definitely not years."
Once AI starts to transact for people, they will need technology-native money, he says.
His timeline for this mode of payments becoming mainstream is one to two years, and he thinks early adopters will accelerate it. "The crypto guys are early adopters, and AI is a newer technology, too. The guys who use AI to pay for stuff are probably also the early adopters."
Still, CZ shows a measure circumspection when predicting parts of the AI and crypto intersection that are farther out. While using blockchain for AI training data verification is a real idea, CZ thinks those applications are much further down the pipeline. AI companies are large, highly valued, and not particularly motivated by decentralization right now.
"We should view AI as a productivity tool. Whenever you can increase productivity, we should use it," he said, highlighting AI tools’ strengths in coding, error checking, analysis, and design and creative production.
How AI affects and develops cybersecurity is another dimension CZ is watching closely, given that frontier AI models’ ability to find software vulnerabilities cuts both ways. However, he thinks the net effect over time will be positive.
"AI is gonna change the security landscape heavily,” he said. “AI is very good at finding vulnerabilities that can be used both for good and for bad. That capability is going to make today's systems much safer, because it's going to allow developers to find the vulnerabilities really, really quickly."
The more significant arc will revolve around digital money, he predicts, as AI pushes the world toward a more digital future at a speed that makes the internet's transition look slow. "If we think the internet moved us into the digital world, AI is gonna do that another 10 times or a 100 times," he said. "The more digital we become, the more digital money we need. The paper money concept is so outdated. We need to completely get away from that. I think AI is gonna push us over the edge on that."
Check out the next section for more details and the full episode.
The latest Talking Tokens podcast 🎙️
For today’s episode, I interviewed CZ, founder and former CEO of Binance, on the exchange's ninth anniversary to talk about what he got right, what he missed, and why he thinks AI handling payments in crypto is coming within months, not years.
CZ breaks down why he once thought stablecoins were a temporary patch job, how he sees blockchain technology as one of three foundational technologies alongside the internet and AI, and why crypto wealth penetration is still well under 1%.
TIMESTAMPS:
00:00 AI, Crypto, and the Future of Payments
00:33 Building Binance in 2017 and Moving Faster
03:44 How Binance Reached the Top
05:48 Building a Community-Driven Platform
08:27 Creating Products People Return To
10:31 Crypto as Foundational Technology
11:33 Where AI and Crypto Intersect
14:26 Using AI as a Productivity Tool
18:37 The Next Opportunities in Crypto
21:21 Building at the Intersection of Skills and Value
21:53 The Future of Traditional and Onchain Finance
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Please note this content is for informational and educational purposes only. Any views shared should not be considered financial advice, nor should it be used to make investment decisions. Cryptocurrencies are high risk and you should consult a financial professional before making any financial decisions. Make sure you do your own research. We may have a direct or indirect financial interest in content mentioned in this newsletter.