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Binance founder Changpeng Zhao said in a May 9, 2026 interview with Crypto In America that he was once skeptical of both real-world assets (RWA) and stablecoins — and now watches both grow faster than he expected.
RWA has scaled quickly since emerging roughly 18 months ago, while stablecoins, which CZ said he doubted 10 years ago, are now a $200 billion industry. He framed both as a reminder that mature-looking technologies can still create new opportunities, drawing the parallel to SpaceX's entry into launch.
Why it matters
A founder of the world's largest exchange publicly marking a wrong call on stablecoins is a sentiment tell in its own right — CZ helped build the rails for much of today's stablecoin trading volume, and his framing of the sector as a $200B industry that took a decade to mature puts it squarely in the TradFi-adjacent column. The RWA comment is the more forward-looking beat: tokenized treasuries, money-market funds, and private credit have moved from pilot to product inside 18 months, and Binance's founder now treats that as fact rather than hypothesis.
Market impact
A public endorsement from a figure of CZ's standing lowers the reputational cost for institutional desks still on the fence about stablecoin issuance or tokenized-fund distribution. Watch for downstream effects on $BUSD successor products, Binance's tokenized-treasury partnerships, and competing exchange RWA listings over the next quarter.
Frequently asked questions
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What did Changpeng Zhao say about RWA and stablecoins?
In a May 9, 2026 interview with Crypto In America, Binance founder CZ said he was once skeptical of both sectors but now watches them outpace his expectations — RWA in roughly 18 months, stablecoins into a $200 billion industry he doubted 10 years ago.
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How large is the stablecoin market now according to CZ?
CZ cited a $200 billion industry figure for stablecoins, noting he had been skeptical of the category 10 years earlier.
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When did the RWA sector emerge?
CZ described RWA as having emerged roughly a year and a half before the May 2026 interview, framing the category as having scaled quickly since then.
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Why is CZ's reversal on stablecoins notable?
CZ founded Binance, the world's largest crypto exchange by volume, and helped build infrastructure for much of the current stablecoin trading market — so a public acknowledgment that the sector matured into a $200B industry carries reputational weight for institutional desks still on the fence.
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What market impact could CZ's comments have?
A public endorsement from a founder of his standing lowers the reputational cost for institutions considering stablecoin issuance or tokenized-fund distribution, and may accelerate RWA listings and tokenized-treasury partnerships across major exchanges.
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