Changpeng “CZ” Zhao made headlines earlier this week after stating Bitcoin (BTC) will reach $1 million, and that the climb will not take 25 years.

“I think for Bitcoin to hit $1,000,000 would be a good thing. And it’ll happen,” the former Binance CEO said on the conference’s Nakamoto Stage, in a video clip posted by Bitcoin Magazine, which is owned by conference organizer BTC Inc.

“I don’t think we need 25 years. I think it’s gonna happen much quicker.”

Bitcoin Overtaking Gold?

Zhao spoke during “The Bitcoin Century,” a session moderated by When Shift Happens host Kevin Follonier on the opening day of the two-day event at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center.

“For sure, I think Bitcoin will become more important than gold. It will take some time, but it will happen.”

He put gold’s market capitalization at about ten times Bitcoin’s and said sovereign reserve allocations will eventually tilt toward digital assets, with Bitcoin making up more than 50% of strategic crypto holdings alongside Ethereum (ETH) and BNB.

Rally Runs Into an $83,000 Test

Bitcoin closed below $65,000 on August 18 and $79,000 on August 28, per Coin Metrics data, still well below its October 2025 peak of over $126,000. But CryptoQuant said in an August 25 report that Bitcoin may be entering a new bull-market phase, with its Bull Score index climbing to 80 from 30, and put confirmation at a daily close above the 365-day moving average near $83,000.

South China Morning Post reported that the remarks drew applause and cheers from a large crowd, against what it described as a lingering crypto slump with capital and talent moving toward artificial intelligence.

Zhao also called the UAE’s crypto rules “the most progressive” and said Hong Kong was “moving pretty quickly.” He claimed “a tiny bit of advocacy” in the UAE’s recognition of Bitcoin as a store of value.

Zhao pleaded guilty to a US anti-money-laundering charge in 2023, served a four-month sentence in 2024, and received a presidential pardon from Donald Trump in October 2025. He returned to the US in February for a Mar-a-Lago crypto event hosted by Trump-family-backed World Liberty Financial.

Source: CryptoPotato