MicroStrategy CEO Michael Saylor Against Terming Bitcoin as ‘Commodity’: Here’s Why

Michael Saylor, the American billionaire and businessman, has rooted for Bitcoin being considered a “rarity” rather than a “commodity” in the context of terminology. Bitcoin, the world's oldest cryptocurrency that came into existence in 2009, will only ever have 21 million coins mined as predicted by its anonymous creator Satoshi Nakamoto. During a podcast interview, the CEO of business intelligence firm MicroStrategy called Bitcoin a “miraculous limited resource” unlike gold, real estate, equities, and bonds among other priced resources.

“The reason why Bitcoin is magical is because its only 21 million. I can create more real estate in New York City. I can create more cars, more luxury watches, I can create more gold. I can create any commodity. They are commodities by definition, given enough money and time I can create infinite of any of them. Bitcoin is a scarcity,” the 57-year-old businessman said on the PBD Podcast.

Saylor has shared a clip of this podcast interview with his 2.2 million Twitter followers earlier this week.

“Bitcoin is a scarcity. Everything else is a commodity,” he captioned the video.

Within 13 years of its existence, 90 percent of the 21 million Bitcoins have already been mined. That makes for 18.9 million units.

Last year, a report by Blockchain.com claimed that it will take 120 years for the remaining 10 percent Bitcoin tokens to be mined.

“Due to the regular halving events, the self-adjusting difficulty, and other pre-programmed features, it is estimated that this will take quite some time and that the 21 millionth Bitcoin will be created in the distant 2140,” the report said.

Bitcoin, over the years, has attained a market cap of over $730 billion (roughly Rs. 56,23,297 crore). It is currently held by 40,796,167 wallets, out of which 963,625 are active addresses, as per CoinMarketCap.

Currently, Bitcoin is trading at $38,389 (roughly Rs. 29.5 lakh).

Meanwhile, Saylor has been vocally supporting Bitcoin for some time now.

In February this year, Saylor's company account held a total of 125,051 Bitcoins, which he claimed to have acquired for $3.78 billion (roughly Rs. 2,830 crore).

Cryptocurrency is an unregulated digital currency, not a legal tender and subject to market risks. The information provided in the article is not intended to be and does not constitute financial advice, trading advice or any other advice or recommendation of any sort offered or endorsed by NDTV. NDTV shall not be responsible for any loss arising from any investment based on any perceived recommendation, forecast or any other information contained in the article.