The future of Bitcoin after Bankman's conviction
In an interview with CNBC, Michael Saylor, CEO of MicroStrategy, addressed the topics of regulating the future of Bitcoin and corporate engagement with Bitcoin, after the company recently announced a new investment in Bitcoin worth $5.3 million.
Saylor, who believes that one can never have too much Bitcoin, also expressed the need for a greater role for major banks to achieve full maturity of digital assets.
Bitcoin and Big Banks: A Partnership for the Future
In the interview, Saylor pointed out several challenges and failures faced by cryptocurrencies and the most prominent players in the industry.
It was reported that Sam Bankman-Fried, founder of FTX, is nearing the end of his trial on charges of embezzling billions of dollars from investors, while Binance is facing investigations from regulatory authorities on charges of supporting accounts linked to suspicious parties.
As Saylor stated:
To take the industry to the next level, we must move to an era of mature and responsible supervision.
Saylor stressed the need for “major banks” to assume the role of custodians of cryptocurrencies and for Wall Street to take an active role in this field.
He also highlighted the need for rationalization in the industry, focusing on Bitcoin away from the hundreds of thousands of alternative currencies available on the market, supporting the view of Gary Gensler, Chairman of the SEC, which classifies most cryptocurrencies outside of Bitcoin as unregistered securities.
Saylor described Bitcoin as a non-issuer asset and the only globally recognized protocol that is treated as a commodity in this space.
In another context, Saylor expects the value of Bitcoin to rise as inflation declines after the upcoming split in April, and with expectations of launching a Bitcoin ETF, which may bring new institutional demand.
So far, MicroStrategy (MSTR) stock has served as a legal alternative for institutions to gain direct exposure to Bitcoin without the need for formal ETF approval, as the company seeks to accumulate as many cryptocurrencies as possible, and has now held 158,400 Bitcoin.
Saylor believes that MSTR stock will still have a place in the market even with the approval of ETFs, saying:
We don't charge fees, use smart leverage, and can generate a tax-deferred Bitcoin premium for our investors.
