MicroStrategy co-founder and executive chairman Michael Saylor has disclosed that he personally owns over $1 billion worth of Bitcoin.
In an interview with Bloomberg, Saylor described Bitcoin as “cyber Manhattan,” emphasizing that investing in prime assets is always a good decision.
He did not reveal the exact amount of his BTC stash.
He did, however, disclose in a 2020 post on X that he currently owns 17,732 BTC, which he first bought for about $175 million.
Some have asked how much #BTC I own. I personally #hodl 17,732 BTC which I bought at $9,882 each on average. I informed MicroStrategy of these holdings before the company decided to buy #bitcoin for itself.
— Michael Saylor⚡️ (@saylor) October 28, 2020
Saylor Highlights Bitcoin’s Superiority
Saylor praised Bitcoin’s potential to create significant wealth for people, businesses, and countries alike during the interview, highlighting its advantages over both financial and physical capital.
He also discussed the recent market meltdown that affected Bitcoin, saying that it is normal for it to be volatile.
In the short term, Saylor stated, “The volatility [of Bitcoin] creates tens of billions of dollars of credit and liquidity at all times everywhere, to everyone in the world.”
Long-term volatility, he added, is what propels “superior asset performance and durability.”
His company, MicroStrategy, has also made significant Bitcoin investments.
MicroStrategy currently owns about 226,500 Bitcoins, which is equivalent to about $13 billion.
In addition to increasing the company’s stock price, this calculated move has made it the biggest Bitcoin holder in the public domain.
Saylor predicted that the market value of Bitcoin could reach $280 trillion by 2045 in his speech at the recent Bitcoin conference.
He maintained that although Bitcoin only makes up 0.1% of the world’s wealth at the moment, it could rise to 7% in the base case, or $13 million per Bitcoin.
In more hopeful scenarios, he sees Bitcoin gaining up to 22% of the world’s wealth, with a potential value of $49 million per Bitcoin.
Saylor’s optimism about Bitcoin stems from his conviction that, in contrast to conventional assets, the cryptocurrency provides a more dependable store of value.
He emphasized that, in contrast to fiat currencies and tangible assets, the value of Bitcoin remains unaffected by economic or geopolitical crises.
Bitcoin Reserve is “Louisiana Purchase Moment”
The notion that the US could purchase a “strategic reserve” of Bitcoin was recently compared by Saylor to the “Louisiana Purchase moment.”
Saylor enthusiastically endorsed Wyoming Senator Cynthia Lummis’ proposed BITCOIN Act in an August 6 interview with CNBC.
The US Treasury would be required by this law to progressively amass 1 million Bitcoin, or almost 5% of the entire Bitcoin supply.
Traditional finance operates 19% of the time. Capital, like air & water, should be available 100% of the time. #Bitcoin is available to everyone, everywhere, all the time. pic.twitter.com/W3RO7CRq8V
— Michael Saylor⚡️ (@saylor) August 6, 2024
By citing Thomas Jefferson’s acquisition of the Louisiana Territory for $15 million in 1803, which nearly doubled the size of the United States, Saylor made a historical analogy.
He referred to Bitcoin as a “scarce, desirable digital property” and made the case that it is a smart idea to exchange a small quantity of cash or paper for a digital asset that, in a century, billions of people will desire to own.
“Bitcoin is scarce, desirable digital property. It’s a great idea to trade a little bit of currency or paper for someplace that billions of people are gonna want to be in 100 years.”