MicroStrategy exec says critics should spend more time studying bitcoin

MicroStrategy’s executive chairman Michael Saylor has opined that the tumult experienced by the crypto space over the past months, as well as regulation, are necessary for its growth and maturity. Saylor has urged critics like Charlie Munger to spend more time studying bitcoin (BTC) to better understand it.

Despite already posting a more than $1.3 billion paper loss on its bitcoin holdings, Michael Saylor, the co-founder and executive chairman of MicroStrategy has made it clear that the company will continue to consider ways to take advantage of the bitcoin price movement.

In an interview with CNBC’s Morgan Brennan, Saylor said the unrealized losses, which are caused by the asset’s falling prices, do not change MicroStartegy’s BTC acquisition strategy and the company is enthusiastic that the market conditions will improve.

Saylor also shed light on the company’s bitcoin Lightning program, making it clear that it plans to help firms significantly cut advertising costs and offer their customers better rewards with bitcoin’s layer-2 scaling solution.

Crypto regulation is necessary

Berkshire Hathaway’s Charlie Munger, a longstanding bitcoin critic, recently urged the United States government to outrightly ban bitcoin, as crypto is not a currency, security, or commodity, but a complete gambling contract.

When asked for his opinion on Munger’s latest comments, Saylor said:

“Charlie and the other critics are members of the western elite and they’re continually prodded for their opinion on bitcoin and they haven’t had the time to study it. If he was a business leader in South America, Africa, or Asia and he spent 100 hours studying the problem, he would be more bullish on bitcoin than I am.”

MicroStrategy’s executive chairman Michael Saylor

“Lebanon, Argentina, Sri Lanka, Nigeria, Venezuela, they all illustrate the plight of the common man, and there’s no solution better than bitcoin,” he added.

Also commenting on the recent crypto winter, Saylor reiterated that the tumult is necessary for the industry to mature, despite the pains that come with it, adding that the events of the past months such as the FTX collapse show the industry needs regulation.

“It also has a lot of entrepreneurs that implemented those good ideas in an irresponsible fashion. What it needs is adult supervision, it needs the Goldman Sachs’, and the Morgan Stanley’s and the BlackRocks to come into the industry, it needs clear guidelines  from Congress,” he said.

The crypto meltdown has made everyone more aware of the problems plaguing crypto. According to Saylor, it is time for the world to provide a constructive transparent framework for digital assets to move the financial system out of the 20th century into the 21st century.

When asked whether MicroStrategy will continue to do business with the embattled Silvergate Bank, which suspended dividend payments last month to preserve capital, Saylor responded in the affirmative, arguing he thinks the crypto-friendly lender has handled itself admirably so far.