Binance’s CZ admits underestimating growth of real-world assets

Changpeng Zhao, the founder of Binance, has a confession: he didn’t see this coming. In an interview with Wu Blockchain, CZ acknowledged that the growth of real-world asset tokenization and stablecoins significantly exceeded his expectations, even as recently as early 2025.

The numbers that surprised CZ

The tokenized RWA market has swelled to roughly $29 to $33 billion by mid-2026. Tokenized US Treasuries alone now account for more than $13 billion of that total.

Stablecoins told a similar story. The market has eclipsed $320 billion, a figure CZ specifically cited as one he hadn’t anticipated.

CZ described his surprise at RWAs becoming “quite big,” noting that he hadn’t expected this scale of growth when looking at the landscape around early 2025.

From mea culpa to evangelist

During events in Hong Kong in August 2026, CZ went beyond simply acknowledging the trend and actively championed it, calling the tokenization of securities a potential leading direction for Web3.

CZ encouraged the idea of “tokenizing everything” to enhance global access to financial products.

BNB Chain recorded approximately 776,000 RWA holders as of August 19, 2026. That figure represents a 370% increase over just 30 days.

Persistent challenges beneath the surface

CZ wasn’t all optimism, though. He pointed to several structural challenges that continue to weigh on the RWA space: liquidity, regulatory fragmentation, and product complexity.

CZ stepped down as Binance CEO in late 2023 as part of a settlement with US authorities. His current role is more that of an industry figure and investor than an active exchange operator.

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