Changpeng Zhao (CZ), the founder and former CEO of Binance, attended and spoke at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos held from January 19 to January 23, 2026. During his appearances, he addressed topics like crypto payments adoption, meme coins, and fragmented regulations.
Key Discussions and Initiatives
Sovereign Asset Tokenization: CZ disclosed that he is in high-level discussions with "probably a dozen governments" about using blockchain technology to tokenize state-owned assets to raise funds. He noted this could allow countries to realize financial gains first and use the funds to develop industries.
Crypto Payments and Meme Coins: He stated that crypto payments adoption has not met initial expectations and remains a non-mainstream method due to user habits and regulatory friction. He also warned that most meme coins are highly speculative assets with limited utility.
Regulation: CZ commented that global crypto regulation remains inconsistent across different countries, making a single global regulator unlikely in the near term. He suggested "regulatory passporting" as a more practical first step.
Banking Systems: He argued that the fractional reserve system is a structural weakness in traditional banking, which makes them vulnerable to liquidity crises that crypto exchanges like Binance have successfully weathered.
Post-Sentence Status
CZ's attendance at the 2026 WEF was possible because he had completed his four-month prison sentence in September 2024 and received a presidential pardon in October 2025, which cleared his criminal record and lifted travel restrictions. The pardon also removed restrictions that might have otherwise prevented him from running certain financial ventures. While he cannot hold an executive management role at Binance permanently as part of his original plea deal, he remains the company's largest shareholder and continues to be involved in the broader crypto ecosystem through advisory roles and new projects like Giggle Academy, a non-profit education platform.
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