Key points:
- Saylor says Bitcoin’s +55% ARR to bonds -5% over four years.
- Ongoing entities had to buy Treasuries, locking money they would have spent on other assets until January 2024.
- SEC Rule 23: Under the SEC’s 40 Act, companies must invest in certain categories if securities make up more than 40% of their assets.
- Responsive Flip: Economic challenges in 2020 caused many businesses, including MicroStrategy, to convert Treasury assets into Bitcoin for gains and safety.
The walled garden and inner circle of Bitcoin Park, a community built around grassroots freedom technology adoption, welcomed Microstrategy Chairman Michael Saylor on Thursday. Support for Bitcoin from Saylor, in particular, who said,” The worst thing is not that they hate you when it comes to Wall Street; the worst thing is if [they] consider you irrelevant. ”
Saylor also said that early on, the U.S. government just kept ‘squishing it [the Bitcoin idea] like a bug,’ but today, due to macro shifts, they are obligated to adopt Bitcoin (hinting at the Strategic Reserve bill). While two of three major presidential candidates are already into Bitcoin and crypto, Saylor reminded everyone that he was right and that adopting crypto in traditional finance was inevitable.
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Saylor also shed light on why companies like MetaPlanet hold lots of Bitcoin. “Bonds are -5% in ARR in the last four years, and Bitcoin is +55%”, said Saylor. Observing this trend of asset performance, he expanded on the limitations LLYC-carrying companies face by noting that, until January of 2024, they were required to place any surplus capital into Treasuries. This was legally binding by the SEC’s 40 Act, which bars operating companies from carrying more than a tiny percentage of their liquid assets in securities other than bonds and such—real estate sports teams or Apple stock aren’t an option. If any operating company moves away from this regulation, it will become an investment trust from a regulatory perspective.
A nuanced discussion of the keys to institutional adoption, benefits of capitalizing corporations with bitcoin instead of bonds, opportunities to securitize bitcoin, advice for entrepreneurs, digital capital vs. currency, and nation-state #bitcoin adoption.pic.twitter.com/7yCfJBBES8
— Michael Saylor⚡️ (@saylor) August 7, 2024
This regulatory framework has long pushed companies into assets that Saylor labels as “shedding economic energy by 5% a year”. In 2020, Saylor explained that when Bitcoin was introduced, he saw converting to Bitcoin as a means of protecting his capital against failing assets, which many companies have been following.
In addition, Saylor noted how much easier it was to save with Bitcoin than under fiat standards. He then discussed the flexibility of using Bitcoin, saying, “You can use it for the bond conundrum, and you get this benefit like what Bitcoin brings to bear, or if you are a private company that goes public, there is no way more money will be able to securitize”.
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What happens when the authorities begin to articulate about Bitcoin is that they are legitimizing the asset. This, says Saylor,” is what will drive adoption both at the individual level and institutionally.” These comments provide a window into one of the most significant shifts in an investment strategy. This is another way Saylor proves Bitcoin to be more than simply a “store of value” and speculative instrument; instead, it is an essential base layer for the necessity of corporate America.
