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Binance founder Changpeng Zhao told Bitcoin Asia 2026 that the crypto industry is not a zero-sum contest between chains, and that Bitcoin would be smaller without the ecosystem that grew around it. He also declined to name the next bull market's dominant narrative, pointing to his own record of failing to see the last two coming.CZ's Non-Zero-Sum Case: Other Blockchains Make Bitcoin Larger"I believe that if this industry only had Bitcoin, its development would actually be much slower," Zhao said. "Having other blockchains doesn't weaken Bitcoin; in fact, having Ethereum, BNB Chain, and other blockchains helps Bitcoin's growth. Without other blockchains, Bitcoin would be smaller. What's good for Bitcoin is also good for other blockchains. So, our industry isn't a zero-sum game."His division of labor is specific. Bitcoin is the largest and most decentralized cryptocurrency by market capitalization and will likely remain a reserve currency for a long time. Other blockchains offer more innovation because it is easier to try new things on them — and Zhao's preferred outcome is that Bitcoin later adopts those innovations in reverse.That framing describes the pattern the industry has actually followed. Ordinals brought NFT mechanics to Bitcoin after they were proven on Ethereum. Layer-2 architectures were built and stress-tested elsewhere before Bitcoin scaling designs borrowed from them. The chains with faster iteration cycles function as the research layer.Zhao positioned himself as a Bitcoin supporter making a case to maximalists rather than against them: "I think most Bitcoin maximalists also realize that promoting only Bitcoin isn't always the best approach."Terminology Matters Less Than Industry Growth, Zhao SaysZhao made an aside on naming that carried a substantive point. In the early days the entire industry was called the Bitcoin industry, and only later became "crypto" — a term he considers poorly chosen."The word 'crypto' isn't very good because most ordinary people find it too intimidating and mathematical," he said. "Most non-mathematical people feel a sense of distance. Web3 is a better name."His conclusion was that labels are not what matters: there should be multiple blockchains, multiple trading platforms, multiple decentralized exchanges, multiple products. "This fosters competition, more innovation, and more momentum. I believe that since the core concept of this industry is decentralization, we should adopt an open attitude and embrace diversity, rather than one opposing another."RWA and AI Lead Current Narratives With No Single Sector DominatingAsked what leads the next bull market, Zhao listed rather than picked."Right now, RWA and AI are both very strong, stablecoins will continue to grow, centralized exchanges will continue to grow, DEXs will continue to grow, meme coins will continue to grow, NFTs may make a comeback in some form, and DeFi will continue to grow. So I think many things will continue to grow."The list is consistent with what the data shows. Tokenized real-world assets have roughly tripled in a year to around $29-33 billion, with tokenized US Treasuries alone crossing $13 billion. Stablecoin volumes reached tens of trillions of dollars in 2025. But Zhao has also flagged the caveat on RWAs: most large tokenized assets show minimal weekly transfer activity, and only around a tenth of RWA value is actively deployed in DeFi. Issuance is outrunning usage.CZ's Prediction Record Is the Argument for Not PredictingZhao's refusal to name a winner was grounded in specific past failures rather than generic modesty."At the beginning of 2017, I couldn't predict ICOs, but six months later we were doing them; six months before the NFT craze, I couldn't predict it either. So predicting the next thing is extremely difficult."He has offered a longer version of the same list elsewhere: he did not think NFTs would be popular, did not think memecoins would be popular and still does not understand the logic behind them, and did not think RWAs would be significant as recently as 18 months ago. The sectors that defined the last two cycles blindsided the industry's best-positioned observer.That record is why his current RWA optimism stops short of naming it the next catalyst — and why he placed the answer with builders instead: "I think it depends on entrepreneurs, like those of you here and outsiders — you're the ones who create the next big thing."