DeFi is here to stay despite signs of a bubble, says Binance CEO

Changpeng Zhao, the CEO of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange Binance, said that decentralized finance is here to stay despite many DeFi projects showing signs of being in a bubble.

In a Nov. 17 interview with Russia’s news agency RBC, Zhao argued that “a lot of DeFi projects are already in a bubble, and I also believe that there are some signs of a bubble in the DeFi industry, but this does not mean that DeFi will eventually disappear entirely.”

Zhao went on to say that the DeFi industry has a lot of potential for growth, noting that DeFi still remains popular amid an ongoing Bitcoin (BTC) rally. The executive also stressed that initial coin offerings, or ICOs, were referred to as a bubble back in 2017, but a number of ICO-born projects — including Binance — are still doing great:

“Companies create new tokens, issue them as a reward. This is not a long-running story. But I think DeFi is here to stay. Even now, with Bitcoin’s popularity rising again, DeFi is still popular. We think there is a lot of growth potential in DeFi.”

However, Zhao said that some DeFi projects “may not last too long” despite the industry providing a number of incentives through DeFi yield farming and DeFi liquidity.

Zhao also claimed that cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin are the best form of money, calling it the “money of freedom for millions of people worldwide.” The CEO predicted that the crypto market has the potential to grow as much as 100,000% as digital assets, supposedly, will become more widely adopted than fiat. 

While he does see a future for DeFi, Zhao has noted roadblocks to the industry attaining mass appeal. In August, he claimed that centralized exchanges will remain popular until decentralized exchanges become more user friendly.