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.

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“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.

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“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).

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

Radhika Parashar

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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