Binance founder Changpeng Zhao, widely known as CZ, affirmed that he strongly believes this year is the year for a Bitcoin supercycle. According to him, this is possible due to the surge in backing for the crypto industry from the United States under the leadership of Donald Trump.
Hence, with other nations following this lead, CZ predicted that Bitcoin might evolve beyond its typical four-year cycle. Regarding this four-year cycle, analysts noted that it typically shows an increase in BTC’s price, followed by a drop after each halving event. Notably, being a dominant cryptocurrency in the market, once it moves, the rest of the market typically follows.
During an interview with CNBC’s anchor Andrew Ross Sorkin at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Binance’s founder declared that, “I strongly believe that 2026 will likely be a supercycle for Bitcoin.” Although he made this statement firmly, CZ failed to establish a specific price target for the cryptocurrency.
On the other hand, other key crypto influencers shaping the industry did set a specific price target for Bitcoin. For instance, Brad Garlinghouse, the CEO of Ripple, proposed a target of $180,000, while the co-founder of the BitMEX cryptocurrency exchange, Arthur Hayes, suggested a target of $200,000 for this year.
Following this news, Zhao acknowledged that, “Looking at a 5-10 year timeframe, it’s quite easy to predict. We’re going to see an increase.”
Meanwhile, sources with knowledge of the situation revealed that during Zhao’s talk with anchor Ross Sorkin, the former Binance CEO denied any relationship with Trump regarding crypto activities.
Nonetheless, even with his assertion, some in the crypto industry suggest that CZ’s connection to the US president may have played a key role in persuading Trump to issue a pardon for the Binance co-founder last October.
“There really isn’t any connection,” Zhao stated. “The only thing is that the Trump family is involved in crypto. Binance is a major crypto company, and the Trump administration supports crypto. That benefits all businesses in the crypto space.”
Concerning Zhao’s relationship with Trump, reports highlighted that MGX, an investment firm from Abu Dhabi, allocated around $2 billion of its funds to Binance via the USD1 stablecoin, a fiat-backed, institutional-focused stablecoin issued and managed by the World Liberty Financial (WLFI) decentralized finance platform, backed by Donald Trump and family last year.
This finding prompted reporters to reach out to CZ for comment on the alleged relationship. In response to this request, Zhao stressed that it was all a misunderstanding.
Based on his argument, MGX is an investor that decided to use USD1 after the Binance co-founder asked them to make payments in crypto, since he disliked working with banks.
Additionally, CZ claimed that he had never met or spoken with Trump. The closest he has ever come to the US president, according to his statement, is 30-40 feet, at Davos earlier this week. Afterwards, he expressed his gratitude to Trump concerning his decision to pardon him.
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