CZ Criticizes Peter Schiff's Tokenized Gold Plans Over Trust Risks

Peter Schiff, a well-known Bitcoin critic, has announced plans to launch a tokenized gold product called Tgold, aiming to create a blockchain platform and neobank dedicated to gold-backed tokens. He argues that tokenization modernizes access to gold, seen as a reliable store of value, and predicts it will capture market share from Bitcoin. However, Changpeng Zhao (CZ), former CEO of Binance, sharply criticized Schiff's approach, emphasizing that tokenized gold relies on centralized custodians and is therefore a digital promise rather than true "on-chain gold." CZ and other analysts warn that such tokens reintroduce counter-party risk, contradicting blockchain's core principle of trustless transactions, and expose investors to risks including fraud and regulatory seizure. This debate highlights a broader division within the digital asset space between proponents of tokenized real-world assets and advocates of purely decentralized cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin. The discussion has attracted significant attention amid a surge in gold prices and ongoing skepticism about the true nature and security of tokenized gold.