Bitcoin in the Boardroom with Michael Saylor

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“I realised I’m on a melting ice cube of $500 million worth of money, the purchasing power is dwindling at 10% to 20% a year, I have to do something.”
— Michael Saylor

SHOW DESCRIPTION

Location: Squadcast
Date: Thursday 8th October
Company: MicroStrategy
Role: CEO

In August, MicroStrategy made the bold move of purchasing 21,454 Bitcoin to add to their treasury, spending $250 million. In doing so, CEO Michael Saylor stated that he views Bitcoin as a "dependable store of value and an attractive investment asset with more long-term appreciation potential than holding cash".

The next month MicroStrategy announced that they had doubled down on their conviction in Bitcoin and acquired an additional 16,796 Bitcoin, taking their total spend to $425 million. This move sent a clear message to businesses everywhere that Bitcoin is a valuable asset and can be a key part of a company's treasury.

Following in the footsteps of MicroStrategy, last week Square announced that they too had added Bitcoin to their treasury with the purchase of 4,709 Bitcoin for ~$50 million.

In this interview, I talk to Michael Saylor, the CEO of MicroStrategy. We discuss their Bitcoin purchase, where his conviction in Bitcoin came from, Square buying Bitcoin and the process of adding Bitcoin to a public companies treasury.

TIMESTAMPS

00:03:19: Introductions
00:05:32: Square BTC Purchase over Ethereum
00:06:02: Competing Crypto schools of thought
00:07:35: Empowering populations with cryptocurrency
00:11:16: Developing countries, currency stability, investment option viability
00:17:30: Argentinian financial regulations, currency manipulation
00:20:23: Paradigm shifts incubating new ideas
00:27:17: Navigating the Bitcoin community
00:29:45: Supporting BTC developers
00:33:12: Getting started with Bitcoin; timeline, rationale
00:40:48: Counterparty/geopolitical/structural risks of gold/commodities
00:57:00: Sponsored messages
00:59:00: Choosing your monetary camp / managing technology risks
00:05:11: Maintaining the BTC legacy
01:10:15: Navigating corporate governance, investors
01:27:23: Tax structures related to corporate treasuries, BTC
01:31:16: Lessons learned in BTC acquisition; advice
01:36:22: Non-monetary incentives for supporting BTC
01:41:20: Part 1 closing

 

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SHOW NOTES

PodcastPeter McCormack