Michael Saylor: 'Unprecedented' Demand Is Set to 10X Bitcoin

MicroStrategy co-founder and Executive Chairman Michael Saylor doubled down on his enthusiasm for Bitcoin on Thursday, telling CNBC that he believes the cryptocurrency is soon going to experience a price boost previously unheard of in modern financial history. 

Saylor’s confidence in the coin stems from the confluence of a number of Bitcoin-related events that are anticipated to occur over the next year. For one, Bitcoin is set for a “halving” event next April that will reduce Bitcoin mining rewards by 50%—substantially reducing the amount of Bitcoin likely to be flooded by miners into the market. 

Rumors are also flying on Wall Street that the first spot Bitcoin ETF—long desired but never yet greenlit by U.S. regulators—could finally gain approval as soon as Christmas, opening the cryptocurrency to even more mainstream investment.

“You’re going to see $12 billion of natural selling per year converted into $6 billion of natural selling a year—at the same time as things like spot Bitcoin ETFs increase the demand for Bitcoin,” Saylor said of the near-term Bitcoin climate. “So that’s why all of us are fairly bullish over the next 12 months: demand’s going to increase, supply’s going to contract, and this is fairly unprecedented in the history of Wall Street.”

Saylor went on to further elaborate on his belief that as major financial institutions expand their investment in Bitcoin, centralized institutions will stabilize not only Bitcoin itself, but the crypto industry as a whole—further boosting Bitcoin’s price. 

“When banks on Wall Street and responsible custodians are managing Bitcoin, and the industry takes its eyes away from all the shiny little tokens that have distracted and demolished shareholder value, I think the industry moves to the next level and we 10x from here,” Saylor said. 

Bitcoin has been riding high the last few weeks. Late last month, the coin surged over 11% to $31,000, on hype surrounding the likelihood of a spot Bitcoin ETF approval in the United States. Prices have continued to rise, peaking at $35,878 during the last week—a 2023 record. Per CoinGecko, the coin is sitting at $34,903 at writing.

Earlier this week, investment research firm Bernstein—which previously dismissed Bitcoin’s potential—predicted that, given the real possibility of a spot Bitcoin ETF’s approval, the cryptocurrency could hit $150,000 by 2025. 

Bitcoin reached its all-time high in November 2021, briefly topping $69,000.

Edited by Andrew Hayward