Binance's founder, Changpeng Zhao, is present at the annual WEF meeting in Davos, pushing the Bitcoin and crypto industry further into the big league.
The World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2026 kicked off in Davos on January 19 and it lasts until January 23.
CZ supports crypto in Davos
On January 22, CZ took the stage in Davos to support Bitcoin and the crypto industry. The event highlights how far the ecosystem has come over the years, moving from an outsider of the global financial system to an important part of global finance set to elevate it.
During his Davos discourse, CZ addressed two achievements in the crypto industry that are already proven at scale: exchanges and stablecoins.
Crypto exchanges, including Binance, Coinbase, and others, have evolved significantly and are currently seeing increasing global regulation, including in the US and EU.
Meanwhile, stablecoins are widely used across the globe as the main link between traditional finance and the crypto ecosystem.
CZ also addressed three new elements that will mark the next frontier in the industry:
- State-level tokenization of assets, a subject that has been widely discussed by key TradFi players, including BlackRock's CEO, Larry Fink
- Crypto as the invisible payment rail, supporting traditional payments from behind the scenes
- AI agents transacting autonomously, using crypto as their native currency
CZ is not the only key voice in the crypto community present at Davos. Coinbase's CEO, Brian Armstrong, is also present and, two days ago, he pushed economic freedom, defending the Bitcoin standard during a talk with France's Central Bank Chief.
Crypto meets TradFi at WEF 2026
This year's WEF meeting at Davos included the crypto community, marking an important milestone for the ecosystem and its global adoption.
On January 19, the World Economic Forum published a piece called "The new foundation of global finance: a dialogue between banks and blockchains," showing that, finally, DeFi is taken seriously by TradFi at the highest possible level.
Key points that the WEF made in its paper include the following:
- A convergence is taking place globally as banks adopt the blockchain infrastructure.
- Blockchains evolve to meet the needs of regulated institutions and global enterprises.
- Following years of experimentation, the time has finally come for institutions to completely dive into DeFi.
- The industry's next phase is deeply anchored in clearer global standards and mature, reliable infrastructure.
The crypto industry's presence at the WEF 2026 meeting in Davos is a clear sign of the ecosystem's maturity, making its way into traditional global finance and paving the way for a promissing future paved by clear worldwide regulations and support for innovation.
