CZ Hong Kong Speech: In ten years, DEX will surpass CEX, and the integration of AI and Web3 will ignite the next wave of crypto growth

CZ Hong Kong Speech: DEX Will Surpass CEX in Ten Years, AI and Web3 Integration to Ignite the Next Wave of Crypto Growth

At the “Hong Kong Crypto Financial Forum” held on August 27, Binance founder Zhao Changpeng (CZ) delivered a keynote speech, systematically outlining his outlook for the next decade of crypto finance. His speech focused on five major themes: stablecoins, real-world asset (RWA) tokenization, decentralized exchanges (DEX), crypto asset treasuries (DAT), and the integration of AI and Web3, providing the market with a rare strategic-level perspective.

Stablecoins Are Reshaping the Global Power of the US Dollar

Zhao Changpeng believes that stablecoins are one of the core pillars of the crypto financial system, with importance far beyond short-term market perception.

He reviewed the entire process from the birth of USDT in 2014, Binance’s introduction of USDT in 2017, to the rise of BUSD, and pointed out that stablecoins are not only risk-hedging tools but also the “invisible engine” driving the globalization of the US dollar.

“Today, about hundreds of billions of dollars in USDT funds are used to purchase US Treasuries, which means stablecoins directly enhance the dollar’s extended influence,” CZ said.

He also pointed out that interest in local stablecoins is rapidly heating up in various countries, even viewing stablecoins as a new pathway for the internationalization of their currencies. In contrast, central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) face widespread cold reception due to regulatory and liquidity restrictions.

“The biggest natural application of blockchain is finance, and stablecoins are precisely the starting point of blockchain financialization,” he said.

RWA Tokenization: Huge Potential, Difficult Reality

CZ pointed out that while the RWA (Real-World Asset on-chain) track is highly discussed and has disruptive potential, its implementation is far more difficult than imagined.

He summarized the core obstacles into three points:

Lack of liquidity: Most RWA assets have low volatility and limited trading depth, making it difficult to form healthy markets;

Regulatory complexity: Fragmented regulation across different jurisdictions and high barriers to licensing;

Immature mechanisms: Current security tokenization products do not effectively anchor the underlying assets in terms of pricing and have mechanism flaws.

However, the success of stablecoins has proven that asset tokenization with financial attributes is feasible.

CZ believes that if the US can promote the on-chain listing of stocks and other traditional assets, it will further strengthen its financial dominance, while Asian markets including Hong Kong are in a critical strategic window.

“From an economic logic perspective, this is an unavoidable transformation. The digitization trend of financial markets will not wait for laggards,” he said.

DEX Will Surpass CEX in 10 to 20 Years

Regarding the future landscape of exchanges, CZ’s judgment is clear: “In the long run, decentralized exchanges will surpass centralized platforms in size.”

He explained that all assets that can be on-chain are essentially tokens, whether they are cryptocurrencies or RWAs, and their trading logic is fundamentally the same.

Future exchanges will break down asset class barriers and enable free flow of global assets.

At the same time, he also offered suggestions for Hong Kong’s crypto regulation model: excessive local compliance requirements may suppress market vitality. “Real user protection is not built on isolation but on deep liquidity.”

He believes that a platform with global matching capabilities can instead minimize trading risks and price impacts.

Although DEXs currently still face gaps in usability, fees, and user experience, CZ believes that advances in technology and user education will drive explosive growth within 5 to 10 years.

DAT Model: The “Intermediate Bridge” for Traditional Capital Entering Crypto

On the topic of crypto asset treasuries (DAT, Digital Asset Treasury), CZ sees this as a key mechanism connecting traditional investors with crypto assets.

By structuring digital assets in a stock-like form, companies, funds, and even state-owned enterprises can indirectly gain exposure to digital currencies.

CZ explained that there are four mainstream models for DAT companies—from passive single-asset holdings to ecosystem investment institutions. Binance favors supporting a “long-term single-asset holding” architecture to reduce legal risks and operational costs.

“We hope these companies become capital participants in the ecosystem rather than speculators,” he added.

In his view, the rise of DAT marks the beginning of systematic entry of traditional financial capital into the crypto asset market, which will have a long-term impact on the industry landscape.

AI + Web3: The Payment Revolution of the Machine Economy

When discussing the integration of AI and Web3, CZ summarized with one sentence: “AI in the future will not use USD, but digital currency.”

He predicts that once AI agents become the main producers and service providers, decentralized, automated, small, and instant payments will become mainstream, with every interaction potentially on-chain. This will lead to exponential growth in transaction volume and create a new “machine economy” paradigm.

However, the enormous computational power demand and capital consumption of the AI industry are pushing it to seek new financing mechanisms.

CZ believes that the tokenization model of Web3 can provide more flexible and fair capital flow patterns for AI infrastructure. “AI should be a public good with decentralized governance and profit sharing.”

Hong Kong’s Window of Opportunity

Summarizing his views, CZ stated that Hong Kong is at a pivotal moment in the development of crypto finance.

In terms of stablecoin regulation, asset tokenization, and AI innovation policies, Hong Kong acts quickly and with an open attitude, making it a promising new hub for digital finance in Asia.

“The future competition is a contest of openness and liquidity. If Hong Kong seizes this opportunity, it can occupy a key position in the new round of global financial restructuring,” CZ said.

CZ’s speech marks a shift from cyclical discussions to structural transformation in the crypto industry. From stablecoins to decentralized exchanges, from RWAs to the AI economy, he depicts a future where decentralized finance is fully integrated into the real economy.