Binance founder Changpeng Zhao, widely known as CZ, said Bitcoin (BTC) could soon overtake gold in total value. He pegged the current gap at only about tenfold.

That gap could close within the next market cycle, Zhao said, if nations keep treating Bitcoin as a reserve asset.

Why CZ Thinks Bitcoin Will Overtake Gold

Speaking in a fireside chat at Bitcoin Asia, Zhao argued gold’s advantage isn’t the metal itself. It’s the mature custody, valuation, and reserve systems nations have already built around it.

He said shifting a major economy’s reserves typically takes years. Zhao still expects the shift to happen eventually.

The main risk to that timeline is a rival digital asset overtaking Bitcoin first. Zhao called that scenario unlikely for now.

The remark lands as US lawmakers debate a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, a proposal to hold BTC as reserve asset. Central banks, meanwhile, keep adding physical gold at a record pace.

The Math Behind a Gold Flip

Bitcoin’s market cap sits near $1.6 trillion. A tenfold gap implies roughly $16 trillion of gold.

That figure is close to the $14 trillion investable-gold estimate from the World Gold Council, the gold industry’s research body. Investable gold includes bars, coins, ETFs, central bank reserves, and OTC holdings.

Matching that figure would put Bitcoin near $697,000 per coin. That is based on a circulating supply of about 20.08 million BTC.

But, There’s More Gold to Consider

However, Gold’s full above-ground stock, including jewelry and industrial use, is worth roughly $31 trillion, per the World Gold Council. Matching that larger figure pushes the target toward $1.54 million, close three times more.

Mexican billionaire Ricardo Salinas Pliego reached a similar gold-parity estimate this week. He landed near $1.86 million using a different supply assumption.

Bitcoin’s fixed 21 million supply cap favors the comparison. Gold’s stockpile still grows 1% to 2% a year. Bitcoin’s issuance, meanwhile, keeps shrinking toward zero.

Whichever target holds, both assume sovereign wallets keep choosing Bitcoin over gold. That holds only if a rival digital asset doesn’t close the gap first.

Source: BeInCrypto