Organized & Compiled: Deep Tide TechFlow

Guest:CZ (Zhao Changpeng), Founder of Binance, Founder of Giggle Academy

Host:Jessica Walker, Binance Clubhouse Bali 2026

Podcast Source:Binance

Original Title:Should You Go ALL IN on Bitcoin? Binance Founder CZ's Answer (and Why DCA) | Bali Clubhouse 2026 Q&A

Broadcast Date:August 23, 2026

Disclosure: CZ is the founder of Binance, which is one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in the world, and his personal wealth and corporate business are highly correlated with cryptocurrency asset prices. This issue contains discussions on assets such as BTC and BNB, as well as tracks like RWA and DeFi. The following are the guest's views presented faithfully and do not constitute independent third-party judgments or investment advice.

Key Points Summary

CZ sold his apartment and went all-in on Bitcoin in 2014, a story that is well-known in the crypto circle. However, during this Bali Clubhouse Q&A session, his response surprised many: If the apartment is most of your wealth, I wouldn’t recommend anyone to do this today. His alternative suggestion for ordinary people is DCA, allocating 1% to 10% of their monthly income to only buy leading crypto assets like BTC, ETH, and SOL, and to avoid messy projects.

This ratio is the most actionable number in this episode. It means that someone earning $10,000 per month can regularly buy top assets with only $100 to $1,000, avoiding leverage and not betting on small coins. CZ's own experience is an extreme example: he had strong confidence at the time, and his life did not depend on Bitcoin prices. Most people do not have the same risk tolerance.

Interestingly, he openly admitted to changing three viewpoints. He initially dismissed NFTs, which became popular; he still does not understand the logic behind meme coins, yet they also thrived; and he did not care much about RWAs a year and a half ago, but now finds them quite attractive. He stated that when something becomes popular, he will reconsider his understanding of it instead of stubbornly holding onto his original views.

On market judgment, he did not provide a new direction: the four-year cycle is still in play, but he cannot predict the next trigger point; he couldn’t foresee the DeFi Summer of 2020 six months in advance either. What is truly valuable to take away are two disciplines: use DCA for investments instead of going all-in; and for learning, spend 30 to 60 minutes a day on deliberate study, digging three to five layers deep on each question.

Exciting Insights Summary

On DCA and Risk Management

• "I wouldn't recommend anyone to sell their apartment and go all-in if that is most of your wealth."
• "At that time, I had strong confidence that Bitcoin would rise in the long term, and my life did not rely on Bitcoin prices. Even if it went to zero, I would be fine. Not everyone is in that position."
• "I would recommend most people DCA, allocating 1%, 5%, or 10% of their monthly income to buy trusted leading crypto assets."

On Changed Viewpoints

• "I didn’t think NFTs would be popular, but they became popular. I didn’t think meme coins would be popular, but they became extremely popular. I still don’t quite understand the logic behind it."
• "RWA I didn’t care much about a year and a half ago, but now I see the appeal: 24/7 trading, transparency, low fees, and global participation."
• "There are many things I didn’t see at first, but when they become popular, I go to understand them."

On the Four-Year Cycle and the Next Trigger Point

• "The four-year cycle still looks strong. Four years ago, we were also roughly in a bear market, similar to now."
• "The next trigger point is very hard to predict. I couldn’t foresee the DeFi Summer of 2020 six months in advance either."
• "I don’t have a crystal ball."

On the Intersection of AI and Crypto

• "AI will handle payments for us, trade for us, and book hotels for us. That day hasn’t come yet, but it will."
• "Using AI with credit cards is too cumbersome; it requires facial recognition, SMS verification, and can be randomly blocked. A crypto-native payment system is the smoothest for AI."
• "I don’t intend for Binance to protect humanity from being harvested by AI robots. We should open AI tools to everyone, just like the internet."

On How He Uses AI and How He Doesn't

• "The most I use AI is when I previously didn’t know something, I would search the web, filter ads, read several articles, and now I just directly ask AI."
• "I tried using AI to write code to filter Gmail spam, spent a lot of time and didn’t get good results, so I gave up."
• "AI may increase developer efficiency by 5 to 10 times, but you still need to understand every line of code that AI writes, you can't treat it as a black box."
• "I don’t follow traditional news; I find it to have too many subjective opinions. I just look at what the people I follow post on X."

On Giggle Academy: AI Cannot Teach Kids

• "Giggle Academy already has over 1 million children learning on it."
• "We tried AI teaching kids purely, but it didn’t work. Chat-style AI doesn’t ask questions proactively, and kids stop asking after three or four questions."
• "AI-generated content has lower appeal to kids. Very young children can sense that it's not made by humans."
• "So our approach is: humans use AI to generate content components, but are human-driven."

On the Iron Rule for 25-Year-Olds

• "I would ignore most specific advice like buy this, sell that; it’s too specific and might not suit your situation."
• "Spend 30 to 60 minutes learning every day. The younger you are, the more time you should spend learning."
• "Learning must be deliberate. You can watch YouTube, browse X, ask AI questions, but you shouldn’t ask vague questions like 'why does the market rise and fall', each question should be dug three to five layers deep."
• "A book sells for $9.99 on Amazon; that is one of the cheapest ways to acquire knowledge."

1. The Story of Selling a House and Going All-In, Now Replaced by DCA

Jessica Walker: You sold your apartment to buy Bitcoin in 2014. What would be the equivalent action in 2026? Would you recommend a 25-year-old to do this?

I wouldn’t recommend anyone to sell their apartment and go all-in if that is most of your wealth. This decision has to be made by yourself. Cryptocurrency prices fluctuate greatly, and you need to understand the risks and downside potential.

My situation at the time was: I had strong confidence that Bitcoin would grow in the long term, and my life did not depend on Bitcoin prices. Even if Bitcoin went to zero, I would be okay. Not everyone is in that position.

In the long run, crypto will continue to grow. Bitcoin, BNB, and other strong projects will continue to grow. But for most people, I recommend DCA. Just allocate 1%, 5%, or 10% of your monthly income to buy the top crypto assets you trust, it’s that simple.

2. I Have Changed Three Viewpoints

Jessica Walker: What is one belief you have completely changed about crypto in the past decade?

There are several. I didn’t think NFTs would become popular, but they did. I didn’t think meme coins would be popular, but they became very popular, and I still don’t understand the logic behind it. I didn’t think RWA was that significant a year and a half ago, but now I see the appeal. 24/7 trading, transparency, low fees, and global participation are real advantages.

There are many things I didn’t see at the start, but once they prove to be popular, I will go re-understand them. I won’t stubbornly stick to my original judgments.

3. The Four-Year Cycle is Still There, But I Don’t Know the Next Trigger Point

Jessica Walker: Is the four-year cycle still valid? What drives the next cycle?

The four-year cycle still looks strong. Four years ago, we were roughly in a bear market, similar to now. So far, this pattern hasn’t been broken.

But the next trigger point is very difficult to predict. I couldn’t foresee the DeFi Summer of 2020 six months in advance either. Right now, RWA, Perp DEX, and AI agents are all rising, but which one can push the entire crypto to new heights, I am not certain. I don’t have a crystal ball. What we can do is observe trends and see what happens next.

4. AI Will Handle Payments for Us, But Don’t Fear It Taking Your Job

Jessica Walker: AI can trade faster and find vulnerabilities better than humans. How can we prevent AI from becoming a nightmare for retail investors in the future? Will Binance build safeguards?

This question has a premise that AI is only used by a minority. But I believe basically everyone will use AI.

AI can indeed discover vulnerabilities faster, but if developers utilize this ability, they can fix vulnerabilities more quickly and build safer systems. Some people may trade using AI earlier and better than others, but others will learn from it. Just like today, everyone uses the Internet, and every trader uses some form of technical analysis tool. Tools will be popularized.

I don’t intend for Binance to protect humanity from being harvested by AI robots. We should open AI tools to everyone. On trading APIs, you only see orders coming in, you don’t know whether the decision engine behind it is human or AI. Instead of blocking it, why not let everyone use AI decision-making tools?

Jessica Walker: AI agents will have wallets, make payments, and interact with smart contracts. What role does crypto infrastructure play in the AI economy?

Blockchain will be very important for AI. If AI needs to transfer money, using a crypto-native payment system is the smoothest. It is programmable, neutral, borderless, fast, and low-cost financial infrastructure.

If AI uses credit cards, you have to constantly intervene. Facial recognition, SMS verification, and transactions being randomly declined are troubles created for humans within payment systems. These are not suitable for AI.

5. How CZ Uses AI and How He Doesn’t

Jessica Walker: How do you usually use AI?

Like most people. If I didn’t know something, I would first search the web, filter ads, and read several articles to figure it out. Now I just directly ask AI, saving a lot of effort.

I tried using AI to write code to filter Gmail spam. After a long time without good results, I gave up. I don’t do much coding anymore, so AI programming is of limited use to me. But AI is very valuable to developers; it might increase efficiency by 5 to 10 times. However, you still need to understand every line of code AI writes, you can’t treat it as a black box.

Regarding news, I don’t use AI for that either. I directly look at what the people I follow post on X. Traditional news has too many subjective opinions, so I skip that step.

6. AI Cannot Teach Two-Year-Olds

Jessica Walker: How does Giggle Academy integrate AI, decentralized identity, and gamified education?

Giggle Academy already has over 1 million kids learning. We mainly cover content for ages 2 to 6.

We tried using AI purely to teach kids, but it didn’t work. Chat-style AI doesn’t ask questions proactively; kids stop asking after three or four questions. AI-generated content has lower appeal to children. Very young kids can sense that it is not created by humans.

So our approach is: content creators use AI to generate content components, but it is human-driven. For instance, storybooks generated purely by AI with a one-click method are not popular; what is popular is when humans write the story and use AI to generate some components. Our team has 60 people working on this.

I don’t think decentralized identity is as important as people think. The blockchain itself is actually too transparent. By using AI in combination with KYC information from several centralized exchanges, it is easy to trace on-chain transactions. Banks and cash are actually more private.

7. Indonesia Lacks Not Users, But Local Assets

Jessica Walker: What does Indonesia still need to become a leading Web3 ecosystem in Asia?

The Indonesian community is very active, but it lacks a few things. There is no local stablecoin. There are no RWAs; Indonesian stocks are not tokenized, real estate is not tokenized, and gold, oil, rare earth minerals, and government bonds are all absent. Think about it, USDT is primarily backed by US treasury bonds, making it an indirect version of tokenized government bonds. Which country wouldn’t want hundreds of millions of people globally to directly buy its government bonds?

Having a stablecoin backed by the local currency is also very important; it provides a pricing discovery mechanism. The lack of these things also reflects that Indonesia needs clearer regulations.

8. If I Were 25, I Would Ignore All Specific Advice

Jessica Walker: If you were 25 today, broke, and without connections, what advice would you ignore? What would you replace it with?

People instinctively view others' worlds through the lens of their own. But everyone's situation is different.

I would ignore most specific advice. Buy this, sell that, do this project, don’t do that project, these are too specific and might not suit you.

My alternative is: spend 30 to 60 minutes learning every day. The younger you are, the more time you should spend learning. It could be watching YouTube, browsing X, or asking AI questions, but it must be deliberate learning, not just scrolling casually. Each question should be dug three to five layers deep. I strongly recommend reading, particularly non-fiction and self-improvement books. A book on Amazon costs $9.99, which is one of the cheapest ways to acquire knowledge.

If you spend an hour a day learning, your way of thinking will gradually change. Your ability to analyze problems will deepen. You will become a deeper analyst and make better decisions. It won’t happen overnight, but it will come.