TL;DR
- CZ said in Davos he is talking with over a dozen governments about tokenizing state-owned assets, the next wave after exchanges and stablecoins.
- He said tokenization can boost liquidity for bonds, oil or gold, and public real estate through fractional ownership, faster settlement, and automated payments.
- CZ said most memecoins are unlikely to last, but Dogecoin could, and tokenized gold added $2.8B in 2025 with 177% market growth.
Changpeng “CZ” Zhao used the Davos stage at the World Economic Forum to argue that crypto adoption is shifting from platforms to public balance sheets. He said he is negotiating with over a dozen governments to tokenize state-owned assets, calling it the next wave after exchanges and stablecoins. He also flagged three lanes for the industry: tokenization, payments, and artificial intelligence. For audiences, the claim shifted the conversation from hype to implementation. Zhao sketched a roadmap where crypto becomes an invisible payment rail and AI agents transact autonomously. The pitch: crypto disappears into infrastructure.
.@cz_binance on what’s working in crypto – and what’s next – at @wef Davos 🔥
What's proven at scale: exchanges & stablecoins.
The next frontier:
> State-level tokenization of assets
> Crypto as the invisible payment rail
> AI agents transacting autonomously, using crypto as… pic.twitter.com/PG3eoNBMRV— YZi Labs (@yzilabs) January 22, 2026
Tokenization goes upstream as infrastructure narratives diverge
Zhao argued tokenization is moving upstream because governments want to capture the upside from their own balance sheets rather than letting private intermediaries harvest value. In his telling, states are pursuing tokenization to unlock liquidity, access markets earlier, and recycle proceeds into domestic infrastructure and development. He pointed to national assets such as government bonds, commodities like oil or gold, and public real estate as candidates for on-chain representation. Tokenised formats can enable fractional ownership, continuous trading, faster settlement, and automated payments via smart contracts, while giving issuers transparency and control through issuance decisions.
Momentum is already visible across jurisdictions. Pakistan’s finance ministry announced plans to tokenize up to $2 billion in domestic sovereign debt to modernize debt markets and attract retail participation. The EU’s DLT Pilot Regime offers a framework to trade and settle tokenised securities, and the UK has appointed a dedicated official to support its transition. Traditional rails are leaning in too, with the NYSE building a platform for tokenised stocks and ETFs and the SEC issuing a no-action letter for a DTCC tokenization program. The DTCC service is slated for late 2026.
Zhao’s Davos remarks drew a line between infrastructure and narratives. He said most memecoins are highly speculative with a low probability of long-term survival, while arguing that only a few with a strong cultural foundation, such as Dogecoin, are likely to endure. He linked growth to tokenization, payments, and AI, predicting fewer bank branches over the next 10 years as blockchain and KYC tech improve. Tokenization momentum is clear: tokenized gold added nearly $2.8 billion in net value in 2025 and market cap rose 177% year on year in on-chain markets.
