Economist Peter Schiff was unable to verify the authenticity of a gold bar during a highly anticipated debate with Binance founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ).
“If I give you Bitcoin right now, there are several ways we can verify that you received it,” CZ told Schiff as he stood on stage at the Binance Blockchain Week during a debate about Bitcoin vs. Tokenized Gold. ”It is handled directly and transparently in the chain.”
CZ then presented Schiff with a gold bar.
CZ hands Schiff a piece of gold (Source: Binance)
“It says Kyrgyzstan, 1,000 grams, fine gold, 999.9, and a serial number,” CZ said, before asking Schiff if it was real gold.
“I don’t know,” Schiff replied.
Schiff strikes back
Schiff has long publicly criticized Bitcoin as well as digital asset treasury (DAT) companies such as Michael Saylor’s Strategy. He highlighted the advantages that tokenized gold has over Bitcoin.
“Tokenized gold enhances all the monetary properties of gold while remaining a store of value,” he says said. “The token is simply proof that you own the gold in the vault.”
He acknowledged that there are logistical weaknesses associated with physical gold, especially when it comes to transporting much of the commodity. However, he believes that tokenization and other technologies solve this problem, while preserving the intrinsic qualities of the commodity.
JUST IN: Peter Schiff says Bitcoin has no purpose other than transferring wealth from someone who buys it to someone who sells it.
“Someone has been enriched at the expense of other people.”pic.twitter.com/i6xB6LDJO3
— The ₿itcoin Therapist (@TheBTCTherapist) December 4, 2025
“For monetary purposes, tokenized gold is better than physical gold,” he said. “Property can change hands, but the gold never leaves the vault.”
The economist then reminded the audience that gold’s value is underpinned by the commodity’s utility, rarity and historical confidence.
“What gives gold value is not that you can touch it, but that it is actually useful as a metal,” he said. “There are industries that need gold and things that only gold can do.”
CZ counters
CZ countered Schiff’s argument by saying that Bitcoin is the currency of the internet and benefits from its high degree of digitalization.
Regarding tokenized gold, CZ reiterated its argument that even if the commodity is represented on-chain, investors must still trust that the issuer tokenizing the gold actually owns the precious metal they claim to own.
CZ also rejected the idea that money must be backed by physical assets to be credible, comparing Bitcoin’s value to that of technology platforms.
He said the “Internet is virtual.”
“There’s nothing physical about Google or X, but they clearly have value,” he said. “Many virtual things have value; that value is not tied to physical properties.”
Verifying gold is a complex process
There are currently several industry-wide methods for scientifically verifying gold.
These methods include X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy, ultrasound and eddy current testing. But these processes are relatively time-consuming, complex and require experts.
Furthermore, X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy is only effective in determining gold content in metals up to 10 microns thick. The other methods have similar problems, meaning they are not ‘definitive’ testing methods. according to to the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA).
The only way to get 100% certainty about the precious metal content is to melt the gold.
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