Michael Saylor, Executive Chairman and Co-Founder of MicroStrategy, recently shared his perspective on the institutional adoption of Bitcoin. According to him, the creation of a Bitcoin ETF would be a crucial step on the way to this long-awaited adoption.
Saylor has been discussing a variety of topics lately such as Bitcoin Volatility, Bitcoin Maximalism, and Unregistered Securities. Despite his underestimation of the cryptocurrency’s volatility, he remains confident in its potential to become a real investment asset globally.
The Bitcoin ETF: An Institutional Revolution According to Michael Saylor
According to Michael Saylor, Executive Chairman of MicroStrategy, the introduction of a Bitcoin ETF would be a major breakthrough for the industrybut would not cause not necessarily a big price increase.
In an interview with The Block, Saylor said:
“It’s a big step on the road to institutional adoption. I think it’s important, but I don’t think it’s going to propel bitcoin to $5 million overnight.”
“I think the ETF in the regulated market is a recognition by regulators of bitcoin as a legitimate asset, but it also provides a gateway to push a button and buy $10 million of bitcoin in 30 seconds,” he explained.
The race for ETFs in the regulated market is in full swing. BlackRock returned to action on June 15 by requesting bitcoin funding on the regulated market for the first time. Feeling a change in the air, WisdomTree, Bitwise, Invesco, Valkyrie and Fidelity soon followed by filing requests for similar funds – for some, this is not the first request.
Saylor’s Bitcoin Strategy and MicroStrategy’s Outperformance
This rush for ETFs on the regulated market bears witness to the growing interest of traditional financial players for cryptocurrency adoption and growing demand for bitcoin-based financial products. As competition intensifies, companies seek to meet the demand of institutional investors and to offer more accessible and regulated investment solutions.
In August 2020, MicroStrategy made headlines by becoming the first publicly traded company to allocate a significant portion of its capital to bitcoin. Since then, the company has made several purchases of bitcoin, increasing its holdings to over 152,333 BTC, worth over $4.6 billion. Saylor sees their approach as a form of bitcoin cost averaging, an investment strategy that has proven successful in recent years.
In terms of performance, Saylor points out that MicroStrategy (MSTR) stock outperformed bitcoin, with a 165% increase over the same period. He compares this to other traditional assets such as silver, long-term bonds and gold, all of which have seen negative or minimal growth. On the other hand, bitcoin has significantly outperformed the S&P 500, leaving gold behind.
Saylor’s thoughts on the role of bitcoin maximalism
Saylor also shares his perspective on bitcoin maximalism, saying it represents belief in bitcoin as a means of economic empowerment.
He sees bitcoin as an emerging asset class backed by regulators, lawmakers, and even presidential candidates. All acknowledging the controversy surrounding maximalismSaylor sees it as a way to secure property rights for billions of people through a decentralized network.
Non-Bitcoin tokens as unregistered securities
As for other cryptocurrencies, Saylor takes a different stance, especially when it comes to tokens such as Ether. He considers them as unregistered securities and emphasizes the importance of full and fair disclosure when selling securities to the public. While the SEC has classified most tokens as securities, bitcoin remains the exception.
The issue of the debate over the rise in popularity of Ordinals-like NFT tokens earlier this year and possible changes to the Bitcoin protocol to restrict them was addressed. Saylor believes the protocol should just be left as it is.
Ordinals continue to grow on the Bitcoin network, both in the form of NFT and tokens, which leads to higher transaction fees. In the past month alone, NFTs on Bitcoin have recorded a transaction volume of $15 million.
Source : The Block