Key Takeaways
- Changpeng Zhao (CZ) and Peter Schiff will debate the case for Bitcoin vs. tokenized gold.
- Binance founder CZ is a committed Bitcoin maximalist.
- After years of advocating for gold investments, Schiff now supports tokenizing the asset.
Bitcoin and tokenized gold are both pitched as a store of value that can shelter investors from inflation and political risk in an uncertain world. However, advocates of the two assets often disagree over which one is superior.
As prominent voices on each side of the argument, Changpeng Zhao (CZ) and Peter Schiff will convene in Dubai next month to debate the matter.
CZ’s Bitcoin Advocacy
The story of how CZ first encountered Bitcoin in 2013 has become a legend.
During a poker game, Bobby Lee (then CEO of BTC China) and investor Ron Cao advised Zhao to place 10% of his net worth into the cryptocurrency.
However, after studying the technology, he went all in, selling his Shanghai apartment and using the proceeds to buy Bitcoin at around $600 per coin.
Since then, CZ has consistently been bullish on Bitcoin. In public comments, for instance, he frequently encourages his followers on social media to disregard short-term volatility and take a longer-term view of the market.
CZ’s position is classic Bitcoiner, valuing the cryptocurrency for its trustlessness and resistance to censorship. In contrast, he is skeptical of tokenized gold.
“Tokenizing gold is NOT ‘on-chain’ gold,” Zhao stated in response to the news that Schiff plans to launch a new product in the space.
Dismissing what he referred to as “trust me, bro” tokens, the Binance founder implicitly contrasted tokenized gold with Bitcoin’s self-sovereign custody model.
Peter Schiff Embraces Tokenized Gold
In the opposite corner to CZ, Schiff has made a career out of hating on Bitcoin.
The flipside to Schiff’s Bitcoin skepticism is his deep-rooted belief in the value of gold investments.
In 2010, the former Wall Street trader launched Schiff Gold, an online precious metals retailer that sells a range of coins and bars, as well as provides a platform for Schiff’s gold advocacy.
While he continues to deride crypto, Schiff has warmed to the idea of representing value on a blockchain. He just believes that value should reflect off-chain assets.
“The one thing that makes sense to put on a blockchain is gold,” he said in October.
“It will do all the things that Bitcoin promises, but can never do. You can use tokenized gold as a medium of exchange, as a unit of account, as a store of value,” he continued, adding that “I’m probably going to launch my own token at some point.”
James Morales is CCN’s blockchain and crypto policy reporter. He has been working in the news media since 2020, writing about topics such as payments, banking and financial technology. These days, he likes to explore the latest blockchain innovations and the evolving landscape of global crypto regulation.
With an educational background in social anthropology and media studies, James uses his platform as a journalist to explore how new technologies work, why they matter and how they might shape our future.
