TLDR
- Changpeng Zhao said crypto will be the “native currency for AI” at a briefing after BNB Standard’s Nasdaq bell ceremony.
- BNB Standard plans to build an operating business on BNB Chain, starting with its own validator.
- The company holds more than 515,400 BNB, worth about $383.5 million, the largest treasury among public companies.
- Zhao said startups should target underserved markets and remittances before taking on Apple Pay or Google Pay.
- BNB Standard shares traded around $5.36 on Monday and are down nearly 17% year to date.
Former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao said crypto will be the “native currency for AI.” He shared the view on Monday at a media briefing.
🔥BIG: Binance founder CZ rings the NASDAQ opening bell for BNB Standard ($BNC), the world's LARGEST corporate BNB treasury company.
“I don’t know what shows crypto and tradfi converging more than this,” CZ said. pic.twitter.com/H5Mxxd6Mn3
— Coin Bureau (@coinbureau) October 26, 2026
The briefing followed the Nasdaq opening bell ceremony for BNB Standard. The company was formerly known as CEA Industries.
Zhao, known as “CZ,” said AI could use bitcoin, existing stablecoins or future tokens launched by AI companies. He wants BNB Chain to become a major network for that use.
“We hope to make the BNB Chain the major one, but that’s still to be done,” he said.
BNB Standard plans its own validator
BNB Standard holds more than 515,400 BNB, worth roughly $383.5 million. That is the largest BNB treasury among publicly traded companies.
New CEO Alex Odagiu said the company plans to build an operating business on BNB Chain. It will start by running its own validator.
“We’re not here just to hold the asset,” Odagiu said during the bell ceremony. “We’re here to build an operating business on BNB Chain.”
Odagiu pointed to payments and AI agents as possible future sources of activity on the network. He said BNB Standard is not a payments company for now.
The company changed its name last month. The bell ceremony also marked Odagiu’s appointment as CEO.
CZ points to payments in underserved markets
Zhao said crypto payments remain a pain point for the average user. “I try to pay everything in crypto, and it’s pretty clunky,” he said.
He pointed to the gap between the tokens users hold and the ones merchants accept. He suggested startups focus first on underserved markets and remittance routes, rather than rushing to compete with Apple Pay or Google Pay in the U.S.
Zhao also said he had discussed tokens tied to computing resources earlier in the day. He wants to bring those onto BNB Chain but gave no details.
The bell ringing follows a governance overhaul in June. The company ended a proxy fight with its largest shareholder, YZi Labs, and added Odagiu, Ella Zhang and Matthew Roszak to its board.
BNB Standard shares traded around $5.36 on Monday. The stock is down nearly 17% year to date.
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