Binance’s CZ: “Bitcoin Will Be Bigger Than Gold” — and Maybe Created by a Time-Traveling AI?
In a fascinating interview that recently aired in Turkey, Binance co-founder and former CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao shared his thoughts on the future of Bitcoin — and dropped some wild speculation about the true identity of its creator, Satoshi Nakamoto.
CZ sat down with Turkish blockchain advocate Erhan Ünal and Uygar Taze for a wide-ranging conversation on crypto, Bitcoin’s future, and, yes, even time travel.
Is Satoshi an AI from the Future?
When asked who he believes Satoshi Nakamoto might be, CZ didn’t shy away from sharing some of the more far-out theories circulating in the crypto world.
“I don’t know who Satoshi is,” CZ said, candidly. “But I think it’s good that we don’t.”
He mentioned one particularly imaginative theory: Satoshi could be a time-traveling artificial intelligence that returned from the future to introduce Bitcoin to the world. CZ took to X (formerly Twitter) to tease the idea:
“Satoshi Nakamoto was an AI from the future. I was just asked ‘who I think Satoshi might be’ in a live (still on-going) interview from Turkey,” he posted. 🔗 See Tweet
While he admitted to knowing a few individuals who exchanged emails with Satoshi in Bitcoin’s early days, CZ confirmed he personally never had any contact.
One Person? A Group? Or Something Else?
CZ also weighed in on whether Satoshi was a single person or a team. “Whoever they are, they covered their tracks really well,” he noted, highlighting that no IP addresses or identifiable information were ever leaked. This, he said, only fuels even stranger theories — like the one involving a futuristic software entity.
The mystery surrounding Satoshi’s identity remains one of the most captivating topics in crypto. In fact, it reignited in late 2024 when HBO’s documentary “Money Electric: The Bitcoin Mystery” controversially named Canadian developer Peter Todd as Satoshi. Todd has denied the claim and has reportedly gone into hiding due to safety concerns.
“Bitcoin Will Be Way Bigger Than Gold”
Turning to the future, CZ made a bold prediction: Bitcoin will eventually outshine gold.
He argued that humans tend to compare new technologies to familiar concepts. “But we do not estimate the potential of Tesla by comparing it to a horse cart,” he said. “Likewise, we shouldn’t judge Bitcoin’s future by comparing it to gold.”
Despite Bitcoin’s temporary dip to seventh place among global assets (with a market cap of $1.88 trillion at the time of writing), CZ remains confident in its long-term trajectory. He believes the digital currency will not only recover but eventually eclipse gold — which currently leads with a $22.1 trillion market cap.
The Bigger Picture
CZ’s comments come as Bitcoin has been riding high, recently crossing the $94,000 threshold and outperforming major assets like Amazon, Google, and even silver. While it has since slipped in the rankings, many — including ARK Invest’s Cathie Wood — share CZ’s bullish outlook. Wood has predicted Bitcoin could surpass gold in market cap in the not-so-distant future.
Whether Satoshi Nakamoto is a brilliant developer, a collective of cryptographers, or a sci-fi-level AI from the future, one thing is clear: Bitcoin’s journey is far from over.
