Binance CEO Changpeng ‘CZ’ Zhao confidently predicted last July that decentralized finance, or DeFi, will soon surpass centralized finance, or CeFi, in importance within the financial world. This shift, according to his foresight, will happen over the next six years.
Zhao noted the increasing interest from institutional investors in cryptocurrencies, seeing it as validation for the industry and its technology. He believes that even a small portion of the trillions of dollars controlled by institutional investors in traditional markets would significantly boost the cryptocurrency market.
Even two months after his initial prediction, CZ remains unwavering in his belief that DeFi is on the verge of surpassing CeFi in prominence and importance within the financial landscape. He envisions DeFi as a transformative force reshaping our financial systems.
During a recent live event, CZ shared his thoughts on DeFi’s future. He believes that as the industry decentralizes, it will see improvements and hinted at DeFi overtaking CeFi in trading volumes soon.
CZ’s claim is based on recent accomplishments. In the first half of 2023, decentralized exchange (DEX) Uniswap, the largest and most widely used DEX, outperformed centralized giant Coinbase in spot trade volumes.
Decentralized exchanges reported a trading volume of about $12 billion in the past week, making up nearly 18% of the overall cryptocurrency spot trading market.
Furthermore, CZ reiterated Binance’s commitment to compliance amid regulatory challenges in various countries. Despite investigations and legal actions, Binance is ready to comply with regulations.
In addition to predicting DeFi’s dominance over CeFi in the next bullish market, CZ emphasized the importance of global cryptocurrency adoption, recognizing that different nations may embrace it at varying speeds.