Michael Saylor Says Bitcoin Is the Foundational Asset of the Crypto Economy

Michael Saylor said that Bitcoin is the foundational asset of the crypto economy, and that its decentralized nature uniquely qualifies it as a US reserve asset.

Michael Saylor, the former CEO of MicroStrategy and a prominent Bitcoin advocate, has weighed in on the possibility of a U.S. crypto reserve, offering his perspective on which asset class would be best suited for such a scenario.

In an interview on Wednesday’s episode of Fox Business Network’s “The Claman Countdown,” Saylor asserted that Bitcoin is the foundational asset of the crypto economy, and its decentralized nature uniquely qualifies it as a U.S. reserve asset.

“Bitcoin is the one universally agreed upon foundational asset in the entire crypto economy because it’s the asset without an issuer. It’s neutral,” said Saylor, who will be joining industry leaders and policymakers at the upcoming White House Crypto Summit. “99% of the energy and the capital has flown into that one.”

According to Saylor, whose company owns nearly 2.4% of the total Bitcoin supply, Bitcoin serves as a secure savings vehicle for individuals, companies, and governments. He described it as “property in cyberspace,” an asset class without an issuer that allows for long-term wealth preservation.

“So if you think about Bitcoin as cyberspace, then the logic behind a Bitcoin strategic reserve is not so much you’re storing up Bitcoin. It’s really that you’re taking control of planting the flag in cyberspace because the digital economy is going to be capitalized on Bitcoin,” Saylor said.

Saylor suggested that Bitcoin represents a new kind of property—digital land—that the U.S. must secure before foreign competitors do. He warned that failing to act now could allow other nations to dominate the digital financial space.

“If you get there first…before the foreigners, before the Europeans, the Africans, the South Americans, the Russians and the Chinese, the U.S. can own it and benefit from it,” Saylor noted.

According to David Bailey, an economist specializing in China’s political economy at the Center for Economic and Policy Research, China is actively working on a strategic Bitcoin reserve, a move that would have a significant impact on the global financial landscape.

While rumors of China's crypto activities have circulated for years, no official statements or publications from the Chinese government have confirmed the existence of such a reserve.

Addressing concerns that government adoption contradicts the original vision of Bitcoin as an independent, non-governmental asset, Saylor stated that Bitcoin’s protocol was designed for universal adoption, empowering individuals, businesses, and even nation-states.

"It's an open, programmable, decentralized protocol that's designed for the cooperation of humankind to create a new financial system in the image of the human mind, much like the physical world is designed in the image of the natural world," Saylor explained.

He further noted that any country seeking economic stability and financial sovereignty will eventually turn to Bitcoin as a strategic asset.

"The U.S. is the last major economy in the world that doesn't have a central bank digital currency or a strategic asset in the digital space," Saylor remarked, highlighting the urgency of the situation.

Should the reserve hold other crypto assets?

While Saylor acknowledges the role of stablecoins and tokenized securities in financial markets, he insists that Bitcoin alone qualifies as a reserve asset. He believes other digital assets serve different functions within the digital economy.

"Their role is capital creation for the small and midsize companies that are blocked from the capital markets right now. I think that it’s wise to capitalize a country or a company on a commodity, an asset without an issuer, something like a property…Bitcoin is a commodity," Saylor stated.

When asked about Ripple’s XRP, Saylor said it was a digital token, an asset with issuers that provide digital utility that is very "interesting and compelling."

Saylor also indicated that the executive order would decide if other crypto assets could be included in a sovereign wealth fund.

"I think the emerging consensus in the industry is that Bitcoin should be the element in a strategic reserve over the long term for the country," said Saylor, when asked whether assets like Solana, Cardano, or Ripple should be included in the U.S. crypto reserve.

If given the opportunity to advise policymakers, Saylor stated that his recommendation would be to establish regulatory clarity regarding digital assets. He stressed the need to differentiate between digital commodities like Bitcoin, digital currencies, and digital securities.