CZ slams AI tokens: «99.99% are useless»

At the Token2049 conference, Binance founder Changpeng Zhao delivered a sharp critique of the growing trend of launching AI agents with their own tokens. According to him, the overwhelming majority of these projects offer no real utility.

«I want to see real AI agents that are actually useful and can help people — with properly designed token models. Today, we’re seeing platforms where you press a button and get an AI with your own name and a token. But that token is useless. 99.99% of them are garbage,» CZ stated.

He also emphasized that cryptocurrency is naturally suited for AI environments, as traditional payment tools are incompatible with machine intelligence. «AI won’t swipe a card or enter an SMS code. That doesn’t work. It will use crypto,» Zhao added.

AI and Blockchain: A Path to New Data and Real Use Cases

According to Zhao, artificial intelligence will radically transform how users interact with blockchain, enhancing the overall user experience. He believes blockchain can become a key source of fresh data for AI training, while preserving user privacy and creating ways to monetize data responsibly.

He also noted that the available internet data for training AI has been mostly exhausted, and blockchain could play a crucial role in the next phase of AI evolution.

In closing, CZ reiterated his call for the industry to focus on practical utility rather than launching tokens for the sake of it: «Crypto can be the native currency for AI, but not every agent needs its own token. It’s better to charge for services using existing coins. Only launch a token if you have scale. Focus on usefulness, not just tokenization.»