Zhao, known in the industry as “CZ”, struck a bullish tone during his highly anticipated appearance on Thursday. Speaking to a large crowd, the 48-year-old billionaire entrepreneur drew applause and cheers by declaring that bitcoin “will for sure become more important than gold”.
“I think bitcoin will overtake gold pretty soon,” he added. The former Binance CEO also commended the United Arab Emirates for having “the most progressive crypto regulations”, while noting that was “moving pretty quickly” compared to a “little bit more conservative” Singapore.
His optimism stood in stark contrast to the prevailing mood at the conference.
“Psychologically, I think this has been one of the hardest bear markets we’ve had, because this time it wasn’t just the price of bitcoin that took a hit,” said Brandon Green, CEO of conference organiser BTC, during his opening address.
“This time, the bitcoiners’ ego also took a hit.”
Capital, talent and public attention had moved from crypto to artificial intelligence, leaving the digital asset industry feeling “smaller”, Green noted.