The much-awaited Bitcoin vs tokenized gold took place during the second day at Binance Blockchain Week. CZ and Peter Schiff took the Main Stage and expressed their arguments for both assets during a friendly discussion.
Key Points of the Bitcoin vs Tokenized Gold Debate
The key points of the debate between CZ and Peter Schiff are the following:
Gold and Tokenized Gold
Schiff started the debate by saying that people who own gold are actual owners of that gold, which is stored in a vault, making it an allocated asset.
On the other hand, tokenized gold is a digital representation of gold, while all gold tokens are fungible, because “gold is gold.”
Gold vs Bitcoin Authenticity Verification
CZ made a point by showing Schiff a piece of metal, saying that it’s gold that he received from a very important person in Kyrgyzstan, to which Schiff said that the gold’s authenticity should be verified. CZ responded that the gold is genuine and doesn’t have to be verified, and some countries would put you in jail if you carry real gold with you.
However, CZ did make a point, showing the audience that gold’s authenticity has to be verified by a specialist, while telling Schiff that if he gave him BTC, it could be verified immediately due to the blockchain technology. Schiff said that the same can be done with tokenized gold.
Indeed, both BTC and tokenized gold’s authenticity can be verified, while in order to check if physical gold is genuine, you would need a specialist to check the precious metal’s authenticity.
The Value of an Intangible Asset
While Schiff kept saying that, despite the fact that people price BTC in fiat, the digital asset lacks intrinsic value.
Advocating for Bitcoin’s value, CZ mentioned Google, the X platform, and the Internet, highlighting that despite their virtual nature, online platforms are also worth a lot of money.
He said that Bitcoin represents records of transactions on the blockchain, and nothing else actually moves – BTC doesn’t exist anywhere, but this doesn’t mean that it lacks value. Schiff agreed, saying that just because something is intangible, it doesn’t mean that it lacks value, highlighting Binance as an example.
Binance Crypto Exchange
Binance is the biggest crypto exchange in the world, with approximately 300 million users globally, and since it was created in 2017, the platform has managed to survive, despite all the difficulties and FUD around it, due to a strong culture and resilient principles.
Binance was also granted official licenses around the world, which means that regulators have acknowledged it.
Despite lacking an official HQ, the crypto exchange managed to teach people around the world the ABCs of crypto and blockchain technology, offering previous insights about life in general.
The same thing happened to Bitcoin – the digital asset was acknowledged by the IMF, and lots of institutional players around the world, even by governments, despite being an unseen, intangible asset.
The Definition of Money
CZ also broke down the difference between price and value, challenging Schiff’s definition of money, and saying that he has a narrow view of what money really is. Schiff said that nobody quotes wages in Bitcoin, and even if someone is paid in BTC, they still think in dollars.
CZ explained that in BTC’s early days, he was paid in BTC, and Binance still has contracts denominated in BTC, with salaries agreed upon in BTC terms.
The Issue of Scarcity
Scarcity was another issue addressed by CZ and Schiff, with the latter saying that gold, a precious metal with special properties, is scarce, therefore valuable. He said that gold’s price is determined by supply and demand, it backs some currencies, it’s a monetary reserve asset, central banks need gold, and bid in the market to get it.
However, like CZ noted, unfortunately, countries like the US don’t have their national currencies backed by gold anymore, and central banks are printing money, leading to a devaluation of their currencies and rising inflation.
As we already highlighted in our previous analysis of BTC vs. tokenized gold, Bitcoin is beyond scarce – it’s an asset with a finite supply, capped by Satoshi Nakamoto at 21 million. While countries can still find gold for an undetermined period, the number of BTC coins that will be in existence is already known.
Due to its nature and the periodic halving events, Bitcoin is backed by predictability, programmability, and mathematics.
However, in a recent interview, CZ also highlighted the importance of unpredictability, saying that life is unpredictable and it’s important to cherish this feature; if we were to live forever, time would lose its value.
Bitcoin’s Value Measured in Gold
Schiff also brought up Bitcoin’s value when measured in gold, saying that BTC’s value in gold is 40% lower compared to four years ago.
According to the BTC to XAU Chart on December 4, 2021, BTC was worth over 30 XAU, and today, December 4, 2025, BTC is worth over 22 XAU according to official data.
Since December 2015, the BTC/XAU chart shows that the value of BTC measured in gold has gone up by over 5,874%.
The Speed of Payments
CZ also mentioned how crypto transfers are making life easier for people, saying that before Bitcoin, transfers required days, and the blockchain technology makes payments possible in minutes.
Binance’s founder also said that you can make payments via a Binance card, which holds crypto, while Schiff highlighted that when paying with a crypto card, the receiver still gets fiat, following the crypto conversion, saying that this means that crypto is used as collateral, and not a direct payment.
CZ responded by saying that there are some merchants around the globe who already accept crypto payments, without fiat conversions.
Speculation vs Fundamentals
Schiff reiterated the idea that Bitcoin doesn’t hold intrinsic value, only the value that people place in it, seeing the asset as risky, a lottery ticket that can collapse when people stop believing in it, and there will be no more demand.
On the other hand, CZ said that the BTC ecosystem includes more than speculators, but also true believers, builders, and developers amidst growing global adoption.
It’s important to highlight that many voices have said that Bitcoin will go to zero due to various reasons, and, since its launch, the digital asset has proven them all wrong.
Protecting the Future of Children
The two also addressed the future of today’s kids and their savings preferences, and Schiff said that the younger generation will prefer gold.
Binance, on the other hand, is thinking in terms of crypto about the future of kids, and recently announced the Crypto for Kids Program, for parents to invest securely in their kids’ future via Binance Junior.
Overall, the debate between CZ and Peter Schiff showed that two important voices from TradFi and DeFi can have a polite debate, despite disagreeing on many issues.
The debate between CZ and Schiff ended on a friendly note, with CZ saying that he hopes gold to be successful and even agreeing to help Schiff tokenize the precious metal. However, CZ said that he knows BTC will do even better than gold/tokenized gold.
