"The best defense against inflation is a Bitcoin standard," the MicroStrategy CEO says.
Michael Saylor has once again doubled down on his Bitcoin bet — vowing that MicroStrategy will never sell its vast cryptocurrency reserves.
BTC is currently down 40% from an all-time high set back in November, but in an interview with Bloomberg, Saylor insisted that the digital asset still holds vast advantages over the dollar.
When asked whether there is any temptation to offload the 124,391 BTC that MicroStrategy currently owns, he said:
"Never. No. We’re not sellers. We're only acquiring and holding Bitcoin, right? That's our strategy."
Despite Bitcoin slumping from $69,000 to $42,000 in recent months, MicroStrategy is still sitting on a healthy profit from its crypto investment. Figures from BitcoinTreasuries.net show it paid $3.75 billion for its BTC stash — and at current prices, it's worth $5.23 billion.
Previous estimates from CoinMarketCap Academy suggest that the business intelligence firm would only swing to a loss if BTC was to tumble below $30,000. Given how MicroStrategy's acquisitions have largely been fueled by debt, a prolonged bear market could prove problematic. And as Bloomberg notes, every purchase made since late February 2021 has been at a price above where Bitcoin is currently trading.
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'The Best Defense Against Inflation'
Describing MicroStrategy's BTC holdings as a "great comfort" in the current economic climate — with the U.S. Consumer Price Index surging 7% in December, the biggest annual rise in 40 years, Saylor added:
"The best defense against inflation is a Bitcoin standard. So I don't really think we could do anything better to position our company in an inflationary environment than to convert our balance sheet to Bitcoin."
MicroStrategy is now in something of an unusual position, not least because the Bitcoin it owns is now worth more than the company itself.
Looking forward, Saylor believes that the current price point amounts to a "great entry point for institutional investors."
