Conversation with MicroStrategy Founder Michael Saylor: Why Should Everyone Own Bitcoin?
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Conversation with MicroStrategy Founder Michael Saylor: Why Should Everyone Own Bitcoin?
Michael Saylor believes Bitcoin is not only a tool for wealth preservation but also a key asset for achieving economic empowerment.
Navigating Web3 tides with focused insightsCompiled & Translated: TechFlow
Guest: Michael Saylor, Founder and Executive Chairman of MicroStrategy
Podcast Source: Bitcoin Billionaire Michael Saylor Explains To Me Why Everyone Should Be In Bitcoin
Original Title: Dave Portnoy
Air Date: December 9, 2024
Background Information
In this episode, MicroStrategy founder Michael Saylor joins Dave Portnoy to dive deep into the investment value of Bitcoin. Saylor uses sports metaphors to emphasize that Bitcoin is a fair "game" where everyone has the chance to participate and win. He argues that Bitcoin is not only a tool for wealth preservation but also a critical asset for economic empowerment.
Saylor introduces the concept of "Cyber Newyork," comparing Bitcoin to the historic opportunity of buying Manhattan real estate, underscoring its significance in the digital economy. He advises investors to allocate assets wisely, including allocating part of their portfolio to Bitcoin, and reiterates the importance of long-term holding.
Finally, Saylor responds to Elon Musk’s idea of mining gold in outer space, suggesting that more valuable resources await discovery beyond Earth. This discussion offers listeners profound insights into Bitcoin's future role.
Bitcoin as a Game and Investment
Dave: We have a very special guest today—welcome, Michael Saylor. You’ve just had your company buy 400,000 bitcoins, so I must be missing something about Bitcoin?
Michael: I think we can discuss this using a sports metaphor. First, there are games you can't play—you can only watch. If you're just watching and the team wins, your season ticket price goes up next year. But then there are games you can actually join. You go to a casino and play, but you know the game is rigged against you. Some games are designed so the house always wins and you lose. Satoshi Nakamoto created a game that favors the individual. Was he real? Yes, Satoshi was real—but he's gone now. Do you know who he is? We all are Satoshi now, Dave.
The most important thing is that like Prometheus giving us fire, Satoshi gave us a game that we can all win. Bitcoin is that game. You know, there are things you wouldn’t want to do on a network that censors your speech or freezes your account. Bitcoin is a monetary network that doesn’t censor your transactions or freeze your wallet. Its design ensures that over time, at the margin, you’re winning this game. Imagine if you had a basketball team with LeBron James, Michael Jordan, and their digital avatars—they could play forever—and you could step onto the court and play alongside them. When they score 100 points and you score 2, you both get richer. Everyone wins together. That’s what Bitcoin looks like. Anyone can join. Wherever I go, there’s a fan base. And in the process, you don’t just win the game—you become wealthy while winning.
Motivations Behind Bitcoin Investment
Dave: That’s an interesting description—we talked a bit outside. I always hear Bitcoin supporters say they bought it because it benefits humanity, that it’s not just about making money but about social good. I’m very clear—I’m on the “making money” side. That said, I believe eventually I’ll come around to your view. I think Bitcoin has become too big to fail. So many people are involved—that’s why it’s interesting to me. When you invest so heavily, I think you said you’re second only to BlackRock in owning the most Bitcoin globally. Can you give a percentage breakdown—how much sense does this make financially versus saving humanity? How do you weigh it? Is this simply your best investment, or is it a moral decision?
Michael: I think it’s both. I believe we must play the game of life, and half of life is economic. Whether you like it or not, you have to participate in the economic game. You can put your money in a Lebanese bank, use Lebanese currency. The government inflates, the bank freezes your assets—you lose. In the game of life, you can put your money in any African asset, or you can put it in Bitcoin. The real appeal of Bitcoin is that no one wants to keep money in a bank using some obscure African currency they’ve never heard of. But Bitcoin lets you control your own money. Is it equal? Is it humanitarian? Absolutely. Is it economically smart? Of course. These two are connected. To achieve anything in life, you need economic empowerment. To gain that empowerment, you need a network that won’t freeze or censor you, and you need an asset that no one else can devalue—no corporation can ruin, no country can ruin. That’s what Bitcoin represents.
The "Cyber Newyork" Analogy and Bitcoin’s Investment Value
Dave: Michael gave me a new analogy before the show—one I’d never heard or thought of before. He mentioned “Cyber Newyork,” like buying real estate on the internet. If you could’ve bought New York real estate in the 1600s and sold it later, how valuable would that have been? What’s fascinating is that not everyone could easily buy “Cyber Newyork,” but when we talk about Bitcoin, that’s exactly what we mean. Could you explain this analogy again?
(TechFlow note: “Cyber Newyork” is a metaphor describing the concept of owning scarce digital assets in the digital world—especially the internet. It compares Bitcoin and other digital assets to historic real estate investment opportunities in New York, emphasizing the value and potential of owning scarce assets in the digital realm, just as owning Manhattan real estate did historically. This comparison helps people understand the investment opportunity and importance of Bitcoin.)
Michael: I think land values surge in certain places. If we were standing on Miami land now, land that used to cost $10,000 per acre, it might be worth $10–20 million per acre today—a 1000x increase in under 100 years. The same happened in the Hamptons, in Manhattan. I grew up in Fairborn, Ohio. Land in Fairborn didn’t go up 1000x. Swamp land or land in the Rocky Mountains won’t appreciate.
So if I gave you the chance to buy all the Palm Beach, Hamptons, or Manhattan land over the past 100 years, that would’ve been a great deal. In fact, back in 1650, you could’ve bought land in Manhattan every decade, and each time it was priced higher than what the seller paid—and it still would’ve been a good investment. The only slight drag was property tax. But if there were no taxes, you’d buy and hold forever.
Now, if you’re from Africa, South America, Russia, or China, it’s not easy to buy U.S. land. You don’t want African land any more than you want land in the middle of the Rockies—it won’t go up in value.
Bitcoin is like “Manhattan” on the internet, capped at 21 million. Every wealthy person on earth will want to put a portion of their wealth into it. How much will they allocate? If you live in Lebanon, Iraq, or Syria, your wealth held in Bitcoin is secure, while your local bank deposits are at risk. If you ever need to flee a country or escape crisis—which happens often—you can preserve your Bitcoin-held wealth, while land, buildings, local currency, or bank accounts may be lost. So Bitcoin effectively represents the strongest, greatest city in cyberspace—and will become the center of the digital economy.
Interestingly, when you bought one or a few blocks in Manhattan in the 19th century, you couldn’t have known exactly how people would use the land. But you could imagine brilliant people flocking to New York, eager to build on it. Just by holding that land, you could become rich.
The Decision-Making and Psychological Journey of Bitcoin Investment
Dave: You’re basically Michael Jordan in this analogy. If you buy Bitcoin, MicroStrategy keeps buying—never stops.
Michael: I’d buy it at $1 million, and I might buy at a pace of $1 billion per day at $1 million, because that’s what I do. Like, Manhattan real estate in 1930 was really expensive—much pricier than in 1830. But I’d say: “Okay, 100 years later, we’ll still be buying, and we’ll pay even more.” The only question is: can you hold it through that period?
Dave: Since you got seriously involved with Bitcoin—especially during the 2020 Covid period—have you ever doubted yourself? Like, “Did I pick the wrong one?” Or have you been rock-solid, or thought, “If I’m wrong, I’ll go bankrupt”?
Michael: In March 2020, we all went through a major shock. During that time, I kept asking myself: “Should I move to Miami? Should I get into stocks? Should I buy Bitcoin? What should I do?” For about six months, I struggled to figure it out—until I discovered Bitcoin. Investing in Bitcoin isn’t risk-free, but compared to the alternatives, those options carry greater risks—either fast death or slow death. So over the next four years, I took new actions to gradually reduce risk. The government classifying Bitcoin as a commodity removed one risk factor. Then the ETF approval eliminated a second. Later, support from the Trump administration reduced a third. Then MicroStrategy bought $250 million in Bitcoin at $11,800—and the price dropped 20%. In the following week and a half, we lost $40 million.
Dave: What were you doing at that moment? How did you react?
Michael: I was thinking about how to buy the next $250 million. Because I was already in. Once you commit, you can’t back down. I decided I would win. I knew that if I didn’t play this game, I would definitely lose. It was tough. But then Bitcoin rebounded, breaking its all-time high. From August 2020 until about a month ago, we raised $10 billion—because people supported us, we had a strategy, and we stuck to it. Then during November’s red wave, we raised $15 billion in four and a half weeks to buy more Bitcoin.
So now we’ve deployed $25 billion into this network. But you know, deciding what to do, staying focused, committing—but getting punched in the face along the way, going through setbacks—that’s part of it.
Advice on Bitcoin Investment and Views on Other Opportunities
Dave: Suppose you’re my financial advisor. If my net worth is $100 million, what percentage should I put into Bitcoin? I own 14 bitcoins—just a small fraction of my assets—and I won’t need that money for ten years.
Michael: I’d suggest dividing your capital. Invest part into scarce, desirable real estate where you’d enjoy living. Then, allocate part into a large-cap tech stock portfolio—maybe the “Magnificent Seven” (TechFlow note: typically refers to the seven largest tech companies globally: Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Google, Facebook, Tesla, NVIDIA), or others you prefer. Next, set aside a portion—say between 10%, 20%, or 30%—for digital assets like Bitcoin. About 2% could be seen as an insurance policy—you won’t get rich from home flood insurance. 10% makes you a participant. 20% or 30% could generate meaningful returns. If you’re truly bullish on Bitcoin, you could go as high as 50% or 75%. But then you’re really focused on Bitcoin.
Dave: A lot of people ask me this, and I’ve asked others too—do you only invest in Bitcoin? What’s your take on other cryptocurrencies? We know your stance on Bitcoin, but what about other coins and everything happening in crypto?
Michael: My view is that Bitcoin is a protocol asset with no issuer. As for other investments, maybe that building is worth buying, maybe that Picasso is fairly priced, maybe buying some NVIDIA stock is a good idea. There are countless investment opportunities—you need to be an expert. If you have the expertise and can actively manage these, you should participate. I have no negative view toward these investments.
But I emphasize this: if you simply want to allocate part of your capital for long-term holding—without worrying about the future—you need a globally dominant economic or capital protocol. That’s Bitcoin. So I see Bitcoin as a form of savings. I just want to preserve my money without external interference. All other investments are games you play as an active investor—you have to make your own decisions.
MicroStrategy’s Role
Dave: MicroStrategy is a Bitcoin company. Do you look at Bitcoin price charts every day? What does a day at MicroStrategy look like?
Michael: Many investors around the world can’t buy Bitcoin directly. For example, in the UK, you can’t invest in Bitcoin through retirement accounts. So they buy stock in a company instead. Sometimes people invest in our stock because they’re required to invest in a corporation rather than directly in Bitcoin. That’s one reason they choose us.
Some investors are bondholders who want upside potential but fear downside risk. How can they gain Bitcoin’s upside while having downside protection? They need bonds issued by a company fully tied to Bitcoin. If Bitcoin crashes 90% tomorrow, the bond still pays interest. But if you bought $100 million in Bitcoin, you’d lose $90 million in a crash. So some want upside exposure with downside safety.
MicroStrategy offers both bonds and stock. Also, our stock is about twice as volatile as Bitcoin and often outperforms it. There are also hot-money speculators and options traders who want 10x leverage. They might not want to buy Bitcoin directly, or they might want to sell a 30-day call option and earn 200% interest. Many traders have their own strategies, but on regulated U.S. exchanges, no publicly traded company enables these strategies.
So MicroStrategy becomes a bridge between traditional capital markets and the global offshore crypto economy. We offer access to this high-volatility asset—with 2x, 0.5x, or even 10x leverage. It’s a fascinating business.
Thoughts on Elon Musk
Dave: Final question—will Elon Musk reach outer space, mine gold there, and bring it back to enrich Earth—or is that nonsense?
Michael: He’ll reach space. But when he gets there, he won’t mine gold—gold won’t be that valuable. There will be far more valuable things to discover in space.
Advice on Investment Time Horizon
Dave: When you mention 100 years—is 10 years long enough for an investment?
Michael: If you plan to hold capital for 10 years, Bitcoin is a great choice. I think the minimum holding period should be four years. Bitcoin is currently $100,000. No one has ever lost money buying Bitcoin, and no one has ever made money shorting Bitcoin. So if you’re looking for gains over four months, four weeks, or four days, you might feel anxious. But if you have four years, you’ll be fine. If you can hold for 10 years, you’ll look like a genius. So my advice is: join the Bitcoin game.
Host Summary
Dave: Michael owns 400,000 bitcoins—I’m kind of blown away. I’ve never met someone like this. He loves the “cyber real estate” analogy—the idea that you can buy property that always appreciates. Not everyone can buy real estate in top-tier areas, but anyone can buy Bitcoin. I love that perspective—it resonates with me, makes perfect sense. Backing a sports team—that’s exactly how I see Bitcoin. I believe in Bitcoin not because of moral visions or egalitarian ideals—I don’t buy that. I believe people will get rich. That’s what he means: back your team. You’ll have people like Michael who keep buying Bitcoin. And there are other stocks—he mentioned the S&P 500 is somewhat similar. If you buy stocks, they tend to go up over time—that’s rule number one for traders.
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