Video | Changpeng Zhao: Large AI Companies May Issue Tokens in the Future to Finance Data Centers

Binance founder Changpeng Zhao announced at the Bitcoin Asia 2026 conference that he has held discussions with several top AI companies regarding issuing a coin. One idea is to raise funds for large-scale computing power infrastructure through a "data center token." He mentioned that building 1 gigawatt of computing power would require approximately $300 billion to $500 billion, and some AI companies are even considering building several hundred gigawatts of computing power in the coming years, with total investments potentially reaching trillions of dollars. Even though these companies have high valuations, they may not have enough cash on hand. Therefore, some are beginning to consider tokenizing data centers to allow token holders to share in the benefits of data center usage in the future.

Changpeng Zhao also believes that the true integration of AI and crypto may first appear in trading rather than payments. This is because AI can rapidly analyze news, charts, and massive amounts of information to directly place orders for users, increasing efficiency tenfold. In comparison, using AI for booking hotels or paying bills is currently not a top priority for leading AI companies.