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

Saylor said that Bitcoin, unlike gold or real estate, cannot be generated beyond its pre-decided cap of 21 million.

By Radhika Parashar | Updated: 8 March 2022 14:59 IST

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

Bitcoin’s total market cap is over $730 billion (roughly Rs. 56,23,297 crore)

Highlights

Michael Saylor clarifies terminology on Bitcoin
Saylor called BTC a ‘rarity’ and not commodity
Bitcoin is currently trading at $38,389 (roughly Rs. 29.5 lakh)

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.

[Sponsored] Samsung Galaxy S24: The Ultimate Camera Phone With Smarter On-Device AI

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

#Bitcoin is a scarcity. Everything else is a commodity. https://t.co/FEZbM0vc7L
— Michael Saylor:zap:️ (@saylor) March 5, 2022

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.

Bitcoin Again Viewed as Safe Haven Amid Russia-Ukraine Tension

“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).

What should you know about MWC 2022? We discuss this on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.

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.

Affiliate links may be automatically generated - see our ethics statement for details.

Cryptocurrency Prices across Indian exchanges

Comments

For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.

Further reading: Michael Saylor, Cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, Satoshi Nakamoto, MicroStrategy, BTC

Radhika Parashar

Email Radhika

Radhika Parashar is a senior correspondent for Gadgets 360. She has been reporting on tech and telecom for the last three years now and will be focussing on writing about all things crypto. Besides this, she is a major sitcom nerd and often replies in Chandler Bing and Michael Scott references. For tips or queries you could reach out to her at RadhikaP@ndtv.com. More