Будущее криптоиндустрии: Чанпэн Чжао прогнозирует повсеместное использование ИИ-агентов Translation: The Future of the Crypto Industry: Changpeng Zhao Predicts Ubiquitous Use of AI Agents

Every individual will have hundreds, thousands, or even millions of AI agents managing cryptocurrency payments. This perspective was shared by Changpeng Zhao (CZ), the founder and former CEO of Binance, during the All-In podcast.

«They will pay for hotels, make restaurant reservations, and conduct transactions on a scale that surpasses millions of people,» he stated.

The entrepreneur did not specify a particular crypto project capable of providing the necessary functionality, citing potential impacts on token prices.

Digital assistants are unsuitable for banks due to AML/KYC regulations and the lack of infrastructure with the required capacity.

Additionally, these agents will be able to trade cryptocurrencies and other assets on behalf of users.

Regarding the overall digital asset industry, Zhao mentioned that he was once a Bitcoin maximalist, but that is a thing of the past. He believes that digital gold lacks interchangeability and privacy.

«I think privacy is fundamentally important in our society. But right now, Bitcoin and most cryptocurrencies don’t provide enough of it. BTC was designed to be pseudo-anonymous—every transaction on the blockchain can be traced, especially now with centralized exchanges and KYC,» CZ pointed out.

Zhao provided an example where privacy is crucial; if someone books a hotel and their address is known, it poses a security risk.

He shared details about his move from China to Canada. CZ’s father moved there for studies in 1984—five years before the Tiananmen Square protests. He visited family about twice a year but spent most of his time in the northern neighbor of the USA.

After a few years, CZ and his mother were granted visas. Upon arriving in Vancouver, he started working at McDonald’s at the age of 14. The future entrepreneur worked part-time during the school year and in summer to cover his educational expenses, with some financial help from his family.

The former CEO of Binance graduated with a debt of $32,000, which his boss, Mike Fisher, helped him pay off.

«Canada is amazing in that you can get an education without being buried in unmanageable debt. It’s often not the case in the USA,» he noted.

Zhao does not view himself as a computer prodigy. While he was interested in programming, he described himself as a «normal developer.» By the ages of 28-30, CZ moved away from coding to focus on business development and sales.

After his studies, Zhao went to Tokyo for an internship, where he wrote software for order execution systems—essentially the same foundation that underlies Binance today.

In November 2001, CZ moved to New York to work at Bloomberg. He spent four years there before leaving in early 2005 to fly to Shanghai to launch a new tech startup with friends. He remained there until 2013.

In 2012, Zhao shifted his focus to Bitcoin. In 2013, he was advised to invest 10% of his capital into it. It took CZ six months to understand how the first cryptocurrency worked. By year-end, he told himself:

«I am convinced. I am ready.»

In December, he attended a conference in Las Vegas where Vitalik Buterin, Charlie Lee, and other now-famous figures were present. This was shortly after the arrest of Ross Ulbricht from Silk Road.

CZ told his partners that Bitcoin was the most significant thing in his life, one of two fundamental technologies alongside the internet. He sold his apartment in Shanghai for approximately $900,000 and invested in cryptocurrency.

Simultaneously, Zhao left his previous job and began seeking a new opportunity within the Bitcoin industry. He was offered a position at BTCC but eventually met Roger Ver and became the third person in the Blockchain.info team.

After working there for six to seven months, Zhao moved to OKCoin, where his tenure was also brief. In early 2015, he departed and, together with a couple of old colleagues, created an exchange engine in Tokyo. However, due to the language barrier, the team shifted their focus to providing services to others instead of launching their own platform, selling a trading system under a license.

In March 2017, the Chinese government closed many of CZ’s client companies. By the end of May, the team decided to create a clone of Poloniex (which was the largest exchange at the time). Zhao wanted to establish his own platform as the engine was already prepared, leading to the creation of Binance.

Soon after, the developers conducted an ICO, selling BNB tokens. About 20,000 people participated, with 80-90% from China.

In September, Chinese authorities issued a ban on crypto exchanges, ICOs, and mining, prompting the team to relocate to Tokyo.

BNB could be purchased at the initial sale for $0.1, then it dropped to $0.06 but soon started to increase rapidly.

As Binance expanded, after a couple of years, the team decided to establish a separate legal entity in the USA—Binance US. Concurrently, FTX was gaining traction, and CZ invested in the platform, at one point holding about 20% of the shares.

With a valuation of $32 billion, Binance divested itself of its shares in FTX.

Zhao then discussed the legal proceedings in the USA, where he confessed to his guilt and served four months in prison.

Following his release, Zhao has been advising governments on creating crypto regulatory policies. He also invests in blockchain, AI, and biotech, assists various teams, and develops the educational project Giggle Academy.

Zhao stated that he does not wish to issue a token for the academy since it would attract speculators. However, he acknowledges the potential benefits of this step: a digital asset could incentivize learning and help instructors prepare new material.

Regarding his departure from Binance, CZ expressed happiness, as he no longer has to manage the exchange. He now has more time for himself and his family.

Recall that in January 2026, Zhao named tokenization, payments, and AI as the key directions of the crypto industry.