Key Highlights:
- CZ ignites debate on gold versus cryptocurrency with an X post.
- The tweet has sparked discussion between portability, scarcity and market dynamics of the two assets.
- Data shows that crypto ETFs are attracting more inflows but growth in gold ETFs are also steady.
Binance founder Changpeng “CZ” Zhao has stirred a new debate in financial circles by recently joking about gold’s usefulness when compared to digital assets. In his recent post on X, CZ pointed out gold’s limits while showing why many people today prefer cryptocurrencies in the modern economy.
CZ made his comment in response to a post by crypto influencer Lark Davis, who wrote: “Gold is on an absolute tear right now. Bitcoin will follow soon”, after gold crossed $3,700 per ounce today, September 23, 2025. At press time, the price of gold has crossed $3,800 per ounce for the first time ever.
Though the comment was shared with a dash of humour, his remark has highlighted the ongoing debate: gold versus cryptocurrencies as safe-haven assets. Gold has held the trust of many for thousands of years now, while Bitcoin and other digital tokens present a more modern approach which is borderless and a tech-driven alternative.
Gold’s Practicality vs Crypto’s Promise
Gold value comes from its long history, stability and global acceptance as a store of value. But as CZ jokingly pointed out, using it in daily payments is difficult, carrying it across borders also invites intensive security checks at the airports, dividing it into smaller pieces is impractical and testing its purity needs special tools and expertise.
Cryptocurrencies, on the other hand, are built to solve these problems. Bitcoin or stablecoin payments can move worldwide in minutes, can be easily split into tiny fractions, and can be verified at the same instance without the need of a middleman. Unlike gold, which continues to be mined and increases in supply over time, Bitcoin has a hard cap of 21 million coins. This fixed limit means no more Bitcoin can ever be created, this creates scarcity and it becomes the strongest driver of value.
The Broader Market Context
This remark by CZ has come at a time when investors are closely watching alternative stores of value. In 2025, gold prices were hovering around approximately $3,186 per ounce which was supported by economic uncertainty and central bank buying. Whereas, the average price of Bitcoin in 2025 was hovering around $112,907, supported by strong institutional demand through U.S. spot ETFs.
In September 2025, crypto investments products saw strong inflows after U.S. Federal Reserve cut interest rates, which according to investors was hawkish. CoinShares reported that crypto ETFs received $1.9 billion in weekly inflows and pushed total digital asset fund holdings to $40.4 billion for the year so far, which is close to last year’s total of $48.6 billion.
Bitcoin ETFs led with $977 million, which was followed by Ethereum at $772 million. Other crypto ETFs also drew interest. Most of the inflow came from the U.S., with smaller amounts from Germany, Switzerland, and Brazil, which indicates that some money is shifting from traditional assets such as gold into crypto. This trend is mainly observed in younger investors that are tech-focused.
In contrast, gold ETFs remain much larger globally with total assets reaching $407 billion by August 2025, as stated by the World Cold Council. In August alone, they saw $5.5 billion in inflows, the third month in a row of strong demand from North America and Europe. Year-to-date inflows hit $47 billion, the second-highest ever, and gold holdings increased to 3,692 tonnes, the most since July 2022. This steady growth comes as gold prices jumped over 44% in the year up to September 2025.
These numbers indicate that even though investors are putting more money in crypto ETFs, but they are still keeping gold ETFs as a safe and stable part of their portfolios.
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