%{{tag.tag}} {{articledata.title}} {{moment(articledata.cdate)}} @{{articledata.company.replace(" ","")}} comment Canadian crypto mogul and Binance co-founder Changpeng ‘CZ' Zhao says cryptocurrencies are likely to become as ubiquitous as the internet within five years. As such, Zhao says we will likely no longer speak about or debate cryptocurrencies in coming years because the underlying technology will no longer be a topic of conversation. In a podcast interview, CZ compared the current phase of crypto to the early days of the internet, suggesting that the technical jargon will eventually fade into the background. "I'm hoping that we don't talk about crypto as crypto in five years, just like we don't talk about the internet anymore… We just use it," said Zhao. The drive toward mainstream crypto use is accelerating, notes the entrepreneur. Data from DemandSage shows that global crypto users have reached an estimated 559 million today. Financial institutions are also preparing for greater crypto adoption and use. A Citigroup (NYSE: $C ) survey revealed that most banks and asset managers expect tokenized securities and stablecoins to handle 10% of global financial transactions in less than five years. Zhao noted that the rise of artificial intelligence (A.I.) is likely to pull blockchain adoption along with it, particularly as A.I. agents begin to handle financial transactions. He added that the combination of crypto and A.I. is now essential for national competitiveness. "I think there's really three big industries in my adult lifetime: the internet, blockchain and A.I. Any country that misses one of them is going to be severely disadvantaged," he said. Raised in Vancouver, British Columbia, Zhao has a computer science degree from McGill University in Montreal, Quebec. He remains a Canadian citizen and has a net worth estimated at $110 billion U.S.