MicroStrategy executive chairman Michael Saylor predicted that Bitcoin will “eat gold” in the coming months because it is a far superior asset in every way.
The MicroStrategy chair made the statement during a CNBC interview on March 11, where he added that Bitcoin was not only superior to gold but all conventional assets, including real estate and stocks.
According to Saylor:
“Bitcoin is competing with gold. It’s going to eat it.”
Superior asset
Saylor said that, at the very least, Bitcoin should be considered “digital gold” to describe its role as a store of value. However, he added that Bitcoin has all the best attributes of gold and none of the defects.
Saylor also commented on the fact that Bitcoin, unlike gold, can be transferred digitally. He said:
“If you could teleport gold from New York to Tokyo in a few minutes, people would like it.”
Saylor noted that Bitcoin has key advantages over other assets, including equity, bonds, and real estate. Specifically, he said Bitcoin can be traded one million times faster than conventional assets and can be traded outside of standard trading hours, which make up just 20% of each week.
Bitcoin’s constant availability extends to spending, he said, noting:
“If you want to buy a house on Saturday in Africa … if you want to buy a car on Sunday morning, [Bitcoin] is the way to do it.”
Saylor further cemented the point by sharing that MicroStrategy bought most of the recent $820 million worth of Bitcoin for its holdings on Saturday — something that would be impossible to do with traditional financial assets.
The ETF battle
Incidentally, Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas made similar comments on March 11 regarding Bitcoin and gold. He said that spot Bitcoin ETFs are on track to overtake gold ETFs and its no longer unrealistic to think it will happen soon.
Spot Bitcoin ETFs collectively have $55 billion of assets under management (AUM) and have traded $110 billion since January, meaning they could overtake gold ETFs in a matter of months.
Data from the World Gold Council suggests that gold ETFs have $210 billion in AUM.
Saylor also commented on Bitcoin’s growing presence in the broader financial market. He suggested that Bitcoin will divert capital from risk assets and risk ETFs like the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) — currently the largest ETF with $505 billion in AUM.
He also pointed to the fact that BlackRock has initiated plans to add Bitcoin exposure to its other funds less than three months after the launch of spot Bitcoin ETFs as a sign of shifting sentiments and the growing value of Bitcoin in traditional financial circles.