Co-founder of the crypto exchange Binance, Changpeng Zhao, stated that the prolonged decline in the cryptocurrency market cannot be explained by a single reason. The businessman insists that the current situation is the result of a combination of several factors. Among the main causes, Zhao cited international tension, the familiar four-year Bitcoin cycle, and investors’ capital flowing into projects related to artificial intelligence. The principal owner of the world’s largest crypto exchange by trading volume reminded that last October Bitcoin set a new all-time high above $126,000 and then gradually lost half of its value. According to the entrepreneur, the performance of the first cryptocurrency directly affects Binance’s resilience. Nevertheless, despite the deep correction of major coins, Zhao is confident that the industry will inevitably show growth. “In the long run, the industry will develop. Demand for financial technologies will only increase, because the number of transactions will grow, and that means the industry will grow. So neither the state of the industry nor short-term price fluctuations worry me,” he said in an interview with CoinDesk. In addition, Zhao highly praised the potential of prediction markets, noting that they can improve the accuracy of event assessments and enhance pricing thanks to an additional inflow of capital. In his view, speculative interest is inevitable for any financial market and plays an important role in ensuring their liquidity. Earlier, Changpeng Zhao urged moving stock markets onto the blockchain and recommended that governments issue their own fiat-backed stablecoins. According to him, this would help improve the efficiency of financial infrastructure and speed up the development of the digital economy.