Despite the crypto markets plummeting following a brief rally that sent Bitcoin past $32,000, Changpeng Zhao (CZ), the CEO of Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange by trading volume, repeated his bullish outlook for the sector in the long run. He argued that the asset is both an investment and a currency and that despite recent volatility, the crypto industry would continue to expand.
In a recent interview with CNBC, Binance CEO CZ revealed to interviewer Becky Quick why he exclusively uses cryptocurrency to buy burritos. Quick started the debate by querying if cryptocurrencies are a currency or an investment.
Cryptocurrencies and fiat currencies are convertible, according to CZ. Digital assets may be used to buy items in life and to replenish fiat reserves for future investment.
When asked why, since crypto is an investment, individuals would not prefer to spend something that will increase in value in the future, the Binance founder said that he holds no fiat and only has crypto, thus it is the only asset he utilizes for purchases in life.
He stated,
“For me, I don’t have dollars. Everything I have is in cryptos. So when I need to spend money, I need to spend some parts of it somewhere. For me, I’m all in cryptos. I don’t have to think about selling crypto. Crypto is my money.”
He also mentioned that crypto is far more ideal for cross-border payments than currency since it is considerably cheaper and faster. He went on to say that when it comes to contributions, crypto has shown to be a superior option since it permits a tiny donation amount to be transmitted – a characteristic that the regular payment method currently lacks.
CZ highlighted a number of key sectors of the business, including NFT, DeFi, and more, in reaction to the lack of institutional adoption in the crypto world. Non-fungible tokens, he said, are “a killer app for artists,” allowing them to monetize their work in new ways.
Comparing crypto to stocks, the Binance chief said,
“There are a lot of people trading on the volatility of crypto. That’s the same to the stock market – some people trade and some people build.”
Moreover, Binance Labs, Binance’s investment arm, raised $500 million on Wednesday for its first start-up fund focused on the Web3 ecosystem. It was the company’s latest initiative to help incubated, early-stage, and late-stage Web3 businesses.