Former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ) has expressed critical views on a new financial product that well-known crypto skeptic Peter Schiff plans to launch. This involves a platform based on tokenized gold, aimed at providing investors access to gold through blockchain technology.
This is reported by Finway
Changpeng Zhao’s Arguments Against Tokenized Gold
Zhao emphasized that the idea of tokenizing gold is not based on technological innovation, but rather on trust in a third party that holds the assets. According to him, this factor is why such “gold” crypto assets have not gained significant popularity among users.
“I’m going to state the obvious. People ‘in the know’ understand this, while others may be misled by such news. Tokenized gold does not equal on-chain gold. […] You are trusting your gold to some third party, hoping they will return it to you at some point in the future, despite changes in management, wars, and other factors. This is a ‘trust me, bro’ token. That’s why ‘gold’ coins have not become popular.”
Zhao highlighted that, unlike “pure” cryptocurrencies, tokenized gold creates an additional chain of trust, where a middleman plays a key role, contradicting the principles of decentralization.
Peter Schiff’s Position and the Development of the Tokenized Gold Market
Peter Schiff, who has repeatedly criticized cryptocurrencies, believes that gold is the only asset worthy of tokenization. In a podcast with Michael Jerome (ThreadGuy), he stated that gold, in his opinion, is the “true stability,” and if anything deserves to be moved to blockchain, it is this precious metal.
“This is true stability because gold will retain its value. Ideally, the only thing that really deserves to be moved into the blockchain space is gold,” Schiff stated.
The idea of dividing a physical ingot into parts represented by tokens on the blockchain allows investors to own a share of gold and trade it freely on the secondary market. However, the issue of trust in the asset custodian remains a sticking point for critics.
In response to comments about the differences in approaches to Bitcoin and tokenized gold, Schiff explained that “Bitcoin was merely a temporary substitute until something with real value comes along to replace it.”
There are already products backed by gold on the market, including the PAXG stablecoin from Paxos and XAUT from Tether. For instance, XAUT is backed by over 7 tons of real gold stored in Switzerland, and Tether has announced plans to expand its presence in this sector.
In response to Zhao’s concerns, Schiff noted that historically, people have trusted third parties to store gold, such as the company Brinks, which has stored gold without loss for over 160 years. He also compared tokenized gold to the principles of stablecoins, questioning the universality of Zhao’s criticism of the industry.
As of October 2025, Changpeng Zhao has not provided further comments regarding Schiff’s arguments.