Ex-Binance CEO CZ Calls For Bitcoin’s Mega Leap To $1 Million In This Market Cycle

Binance founder and former CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao has suggested that a bullish Bitcoin breakout is on the horizon — one that could potentially take the price of the world’s largest cryptocurrency by market cap to $1 million in the current market cycle.

Why $1 Million BTC Is Coming

People often think they’re too late to buy Bitcoin because it’s already worth over $94,000. However, Binance’s Changpeng Zhao believes significant upside has yet to play out for the asset.

During a recent interview with Rug Radio, Zhao forecasted that BTC could surge to anywhere between $500,000 and $1 million this cycle. He also believes that the total market capitalization could hit $5 trillion by the end of this year.

CZ cited the role of spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in this parabolic surge, noting that the increasing institutionalization of Bitcoin is a boon for the market:

“There’s the ETFs. There’s this institutionalization of Bitcoin [ … ] it’s a positive in terms of price action, obviously. Our bags are up  —  not the alt‑coins as much, but at least Bitcoin is.”

In his opinion, ETFs are “bringing the traditional institution money into crypto,” and most of the money in the US is institutional money.” The crypto billionaire says Bitcoin is soaring higher because most of the ETFs are BTC-based.

Zhao also stressed that nation-states are increasingly acquiring Bitcoin as well, which bodes well for the price action. He added:

“It’s also very good validation.”

The former Binance boss further highlighted that the US has notably “pivoted 180 degrees under a pro-crypto president,” since President Trump’s return to the Oval Office.

“They’re smart enough to recognise that buying Bitcoin is a great move, and now other countries will have to follow,” he quipped.

Recent Bitcoin Performance

CZ is not new to seven-figure Bitcoin price predictions. Earlier this year, the ex-Binance CEO highlighted the $1 million milestone in an X post, foreseeing a hypothetical headline about the BTC price crashing from $1,001,000 to $985,000 levels. 

Back in 2020, CZ had similarly called for $100,000 BTC, imagining a fall from $101,000 heights to $85,000. The forecast came to pass as Bitcoin eventually breached the $100K mark in December 2024.

The benchmark crypto was priced at $95,112 as of press time, according to CoinGecko data. It set its current all-time high of nearly $109,000 back in January ahead of President Donald Trump’s inauguration. Meanwhile, the global crypto market cap hovers at around $3.03 trillion.