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- MicroStrategy CEO and bitcoin evangelist Michael Saylor said this is the “year of institutional investment” in cryptocurrencies.
- The news comes as bitcoin tested new highs of over $48,000 per coin on Tuesday morning.
- Saylor held a “Bitcoin for Corporations” conference on February 3 and 4 that saw 7,000 companies attend.
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Noted bitcoin bull Michael Saylor said that 2021 is the “year of institutional investment” in cryptocurrency in an interview with Ran Neuner, the former host of CNBC’s “Crypto Trader,” on Tuesday.
With fiat currencies depreciating, Saylor said, “the simple most value-creating thing” companies can do is convert cash from “analog money into a digital asset like bitcoin.”
According to the bitcoin evangelist, there were “1,000 companies” that “went through this transformation” in 2020 alone.
Saylor, who is the CEO of the business intelligence firm MicroStrategy, has been pushing corporate moves into bitcoin for some time. His company MicroStrategy owns over 71,079 bitcoins worth $3.35 billion at current prices.
Saylor's comments come on the back of a historic rise for bitcoin, which hit all-time highs on Tuesday of over $48,000 per coin after Tesla announced a $1.5 billion investment in the currency.
Saylor and Elon Musk have been linked in the media after a tweet exchange between the two showed Musk asking if bitcoin transactions in the billion-dollar range are even possible.
Saylor responded, "Yes. I have purchased over $1.3 billion in #BTC in past months & would be happy to share my playbook with you offline - from one rocket scientist to another."
Ran Neuner asked Saylor about the Tesla move and if there were other interactions between him and Musk in the Tuesday interview.
Saylor responded by saying that as an officer of a public company, he "couldn't really comment on that one way or the other."
However, he did call the move by Tesla "forward-thinking" and compared the transformation from internal combustion engines to electric vehicles at Tesla to the "digital transformation of the balance sheet."
Michael Saylor has been the talk of the crypto world this month after he held a "Bitcoin for Corporations" conference on February 3 and 4.
In his interview with Ran Neuner, Saylor said 7,000 companies and around 8,500 people attended the event, far exceeding his expectations for 2,000 attendees.
He also noted the idea for the conference came from "popular demand." The bitcoin bull said he had been receiving hundreds of invitations for meetings to answer questions about converting fiat currencies into bitcoin after his company bought into the market.
When asked about the next major company that might move into crypto, Saylor said he would look at "cash-rich companies," including big tech players, saying, "I think it makes sense for Apple," but "it could be any of the top five to 10."
Still, bitcoin and Tesla always have their critics. Michael Burry, of "Big Short" fame, said on Tuesday he believes "we are in a blow-off top in all things" and that "markets have now bubbled over in a dangerous way."
Bitcoin traded at $47,344 on Tuesday as of 3:46 PM EST. The cryptocurrency has appreciated roughly 20% in the past two days alone.