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MicroStrategy co-founder and Executive Chairman Michael Saylor said bitcoin is “Manifest Destiny” in the United States, reflecting on the Republican U.S. election sweep, potential new pro-crypto Securities and Exchange Commission Chair and MicroStrategy’s plans to acquire another $42 billion worth of BTC.
Trump and the Republican party proposed various crypto policies during the campaign, including establishing a national bitcoin stockpile and promising to “end the war on crypto regulation.”
“The red wave is probably the biggest thing that's happened in the past four years for Bitcoin,” Saylor said in a televised interview with CNBC late Thursday. “It's incredibly auspicious for Bitcoin and for the entire crypto industry. But we're also getting a lot of very constructive support from Wall Street. BlackRock has been a very, very strong voice articulating the Bitcoin value proposition.”
Another of Trump’s campaign promises was to fire current SEC Chair Gary Gensler “on day one.” Often perceived as being hostile toward the crypto industry, Gensler embarked on a series of enforcement actions against major players in the space during his tenure. However, in a reflective speech on Thursday, he indicated that his time at the agency may soon be coming to an end. Saylor wouldn’t be drawn on who he expected to become the next Chair, describing it as above his pay grade, but given the pro-crypto stance of the incoming U.S. House, Senate and White House, he expects they will have a “very supportive head of the SEC.”
“I think this is incredibly bullish for digital assets. It's very good for the crypto industry. We're going to see a lot more pro-bitcoin policies. We're going to see a digital assets framework. We're going to see an end to the war on crypto. We're going to see a lot of pro-business policies. I think that, clearly, the SEC will be a big part of it,” Saylor said.
In terms of a potential strategic bitcoin stockpile in the U.S., Saylor referenced the draft bill from Senator Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) for the U.S. to adopt such a reserve, saying she understood the value of the frontier. “The United States was built by purchasing Manhattan. Then we purchased the Louisiana Territory, then we purchased California and acquired Texas, and then we bought Alaska. The next great frontier is cyberspace,” he said. “Senator Lummis's bill will offset $16 trillion of our debt, according to my models right now. I think it's economically wise, it's technically wise. And again, bitcoin is Manifest Destiny for the United States.”
Meanwhile, MicroStrategy is busy building up a bitcoin reserve of its own. On Monday, the business intelligence firm announced it had acquired another 27,200 BTC for roughly $2.03 billion in cash at an estimated $74,463 per coin between Oct. 31, 2024, and Nov. 10, 2024. These latest purchases take MicroStrategy’s total holdings to 279,420 BTC, acquired for an approximate aggregate purchase price of $11.9 billion — equating to an average purchase price of $42,692 per coin, including fees and expenses. To put that in perspective, that places the company as one of the largest known holders of bitcoin, equivalent to 1.3% of the cryptocurrency's total 21 million supply.
However, it's not slowing down, with MicroStrategy expected to significantly ramp up its purchases from here, having also recently announced plans to raise $42 billion in capital for bitcoin acquisitions over the next few years. “That's the same as saying we're going to buy every bitcoin mined for the next three years at $85,000 or more … so there's a lot of bullish things going on in the market right now,” Saylor said on Thursday.
Saylor is not the only one bullish on the bitcoin reserve objective, with crypto VC firm Paradigm co-founder Matt Huang noting on Thursday that nation-states can no longer afford to dismiss bitcoin. “From a game theoretic perspective, BTC is like gunpowder, not the iPhone. Once gunpowder was discovered, every sovereign was forced to adopt it… or else,” Huang said. “Now that the Overton window has opened for U.S. adoption of BTC, other sovereigns will not wait. Sovereigns that build BTC reserves early will benefit from significantly better entry prices. The race to build BTC reserves is on.”
Asked what he thought was the biggest threat to bitcoin’s price staying above $60,000 and what could potentially cause another dive below $30,000, Saylor said, “I don't think it's going to $60K. It's not going to $30K. I think it's going to go up from here.” He added that the biggest uncertainty was the Nov. 5 election result and that was now out of the way amid the Republican sweep.
Following Michael Saylor’s newfound bitcoin advocacy and MicroStrategy’s adoption of the cryptocurrency as its primary treasury reserve asset in 2020, the prior bull market ran up as high as $69,000 in November 2021, leading to calls for him to host a $100K bitcoin party. However, the subsequent crash into a 2022 bear market that saw crypto firms like FTX and Celsius collapse into bankruptcy meant those plans had to be put on hold.
Three years later, with bitcoin surging above $93,000 earlier this week, those plans now seem to be back on the table — potentially for New Year’s Eve. “I'm planning the $100K party, and I'm thinking it's probably going to be New Year's Eve at my house, so I would be surprised if we don't go through $100,000 in November or December,” Saylor said.
Bitcoin is currently trading for $90,232, according to The Block's Bitcoin Price Page. The foremost cryptocurrency is down 1% over the last 24 hours but up 18% this past week and 113% year-to-date.
Written by James Hunt for theblock.co