Changpeng ‘cz’ Zhao says he has “unpopular opinions” about using crypto in AI rates: “Not all agents need their own tokens.”

Changpeng Zhao, founder of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange vinance BNB/USDadvised the Artificial Intelligence Agent Service to focus on utilities rather than firing its own coins on Monday.

What happened: Zhao, commonly known as CZ, posted a “unpopular opinion” about the connection between AI agents and the world of cryptocurrency.

“Cryptocurrency is AI’s currency, but not every agent needs its own token,” CZ said. “Only launch coins if you have a scale. Focus on utilities rather than tokens.”

The former CEO of Binance added that agents can use existing cryptocurrencies to receive payments for the services they offer.

CZ’s remarks have invited the response to influential cryptocurrency analyst Benjamin Cowen presenting the same argument, but this time it’s about cryptocurrency exchanges, where fees are collected from existing tokens, rather than releasing their own tokens. The retort appeared to be directed at BNB BNB’s Binance’s Exchange Token.

See: Crypto leaders will step up pressure on the SEC as Trump’s policies reshape the regulatory landscape

Why it matters: Zhao’s perspective comes when the AI ​​agent cryptocurrency market is experiencing a significant contraction.

According to Coingecko, AI Agent Coin’s market capitalization has plummeted 67% since the start of the year, but its share of the AI ​​market has shrunk from 67% to 45.52% at the time of writing. Since the start of 2025, major AI agent coins such as Artificial Super Intelligence (FET) and AI16Z (AI16Z) have reached 60% and 88% respectively.

It is worth noting that the AI ​​Agent Bot market is expanding. These virtual agents are increasingly proficient at problem solving. Furthermore, the Web3 AI sector is projected to grow incredible 89.7% by 2030, surpassing the overall AI market’s 44% growth.

Photo: River kao via shutterstock

Read next: