Zhao Changpeng: The adoption rate of cryptocurrency may take 5 to 10 years to reach 20%, and there is currently insufficient innovation in the retail sector

During a speech at the Oxford Union, Binance founder Changpeng Zhao mentioned that the adoption process of cryptocurrency is slow but irreversible. He estimates that it may take 5 to 10 years for the cryptocurrency adoption rate to reach 20%, while the middle 60% to 80% may take another 10 to 20 years, and the final 20% could take a long time. The initial phase is filled with skepticism, accelerating after surpassing 20%, and slowing down after exceeding 80%.

He pointed out that in the past two years, many governments around the world have shown a significant change in their attitude towards cryptocurrency. The United States has shifted to a crypto-friendly stance, with other countries following suit. However, the upgrade of the financial system is slow, and large institutions exhibit inertia, leading to significant friction for banks to directly access blockchain.

Currently, innovation in retail payment and daily use cases is still lacking. Many projects are just getting started and will need another year or two, while on the institutional side, ETFs, tokenized stocks, and stablecoins are on the rise. Different cycles focus on different aspects, shifting from early Bitcoin and ICOs to meme coins, and recently turning towards institutional adoption. He remains optimistic about this and is willing to fund developers.