CZ Says He Underestimated RWA Growth and Now Understands Its Appeal

Changpeng Zhao, Binance’s founder known as CZ, said he underestimated the growth potential of the real-world asset, or RWA, tokenization market. He added that he had also misread several major crypto trends, including the rise of non-fungible tokens and meme coins.

In a recent interview for “Binance Clubhouse Bali 2026,” Zhao said that as recently as about a year and a half ago, he did not expect RWA to grow to its current scale. He said he is now starting to understand why RWA is attractive.

Zhao also said he failed to anticipate the growth of NFTs and meme coins. He did not expect NFTs to gain mainstream popularity, and he did not think meme coins would attract the level of market attention they have now.

“There have been many trends in the crypto market that I didn’t see coming at first,” Zhao said. “In many cases, I only understood why they were appealing after they had already become popular.”

The RWA market has been expanding rapidly as more traditional financial assets, including U.S. Treasuries, stocks and private credit, are tokenized on blockchain networks. Global financial firms and crypto companies are also moving to build related products and infrastructure, adding momentum to the market’s growth.