If you are a Bitcoiner who stays up to date with currency events, you may already know who Michael J. Saylor is and the role he has played in the Bitcoin ecosystem in recent years.
Since mid-2020, Michael Saylor has been actively purchasing Bitcoin and showing his support for the currency. However, this wasn’t always the case; in 2013, he even criticized Bitcoin, calling it nothing more than “online gambling.”
Today, Michael J. Saylor has become one of Bitcoin’s most significant advocates and a source of inspiration for many enthusiasts.
Many believe he could become one of the richest men in the world, since 2020, he has adopted a strategy of consistently purchasing Bitcoin through his company, MicroStrategy.
In this article, you will learn about who Michael J. Saylor is, as well as his history and trajectory with Bitcoin.
Table of Contents
Who is Michael J. Saylor?
Michael J. Saylor is a billionaire businessman, former CEO of the technology company MicroStrategy, and a Bitcoin maximalist. He was born on February 4, 1965, in Nebraska, United States.
As a child, he dreamed of becoming an astronaut, which led him to earn a degree in aeronautics from MIT. His specialization also encompassed astronautics, science, technology, and society.
It’s no wonder he often makes philosophical comparisons about Bitcoin.
Emergence of MicroStrategy
In 1989, Saylor founded his technology company, MicroStrategy, which initially focused on data mining and now provides business intelligence software.
Shortly after its founding, MicroStrategy achieved an important milestone by signing a $10 million contract with McDonald’s. This agreement was aimed at developing intelligence applications that would help the fast-food giant improve its operations and marketing strategies.
Internet bubble (dot com bubble)
Nearly a decade after founding MicroStrategy, Michael Saylor rose to prominence during the internet bubble, also known as the dot com bubble. This period, marked by intense speculative activity in the late 90s, saw rapid appreciation in technology companies and internet-based businesses.
MicroStrategy received a million-dollar initial offering and went public on the stock exchange in 1998. With the high appreciation of shares, Saylor multiplied his assets, becoming a multimillionaire.
Today, Michael Saylor is the 528th richest man in the world, according to Forbes, with a net worth of $5 billion.
However, by April 2024, MicroStrategy’s Bitcoin assets alone exceed $14 billion.
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The relationship between Michael Saylor and Bitcoin
As we mentioned at the beginning of this article, Michael Saylor had previously spoken negatively about Bitcoin, that is, he had already been a hater.
In a tweet from 2013, he stated that “Bitcoin’s days were numbered” and that it would suffer “the same fate as online gambling.“
It’s incredible that today, when we revisit these statements, he hardly seems like the same Saylor we know. After gaining a deeper understanding of Bitcoin, he has become a staunch activist for the currency and is known for adopting aggressive strategies to acquire it.
Michael Saylor believed that an uncontrollable event such as COVID-19 could destabilize global markets in the medium to long term.
From an investor’s perspective, this could result in:
- new business opportunities;
- or strong setbacks.
In situations like this, banks and governments often begin to print money deliberately, which increases inflation and can lead to an economic crisis affecting companies, investors, and the entire global economy.
These ideas were explored in his thesis at MIT, showing his awareness of potential market shifts. Given this scenario, Saylor realized that Bitcoin could be an excellent protective asset, as it is not controlled by any government.
Then, in August 2020, he announced his first purchase of Bitcoin through his company, MicroStrategy.
At that time, he acquired a total of 21,454 bitcoins. But, he didn’t stop there…
Saylor’s maximalist strategy
Since his entry into the Bitcoin arena, Michael Saylor has been known for his maximalist views and aggressive strategies. He typically leverages his company, MicroStrategy, to make substantial investments in Bitcoin.
Therefore, since he began making regular Bitcoin purchases through MicroStrategy, he has bought Bitcoin 36 times. All these purchases were significant, making MicroStrategy the largest public company holder of Bitcoin.
As of now, the company holds 214,246 BTC on its balance sheet, valued at over $14 billion. To put it in perspective, the amount of BTC that MicroStrategy holds corresponds to 1.02% of the total 21 million Bitcoin that will ever exist.
A lot, right?!
For a public company, this is an extraordinarily high number and shows how Saylor identified in Bitcoin an opportunity that many large companies have yet to realize.
However, despite having a market valuation of over $27 billion, MicroStrategy is still not among the top 10 largest technology companies in the world.
Opportunities in Bitcoin
Michael Saylor identified so many opportunities in Bitcoin that he even issued debt securities to operate in a leveraged manner and buy more BTC. So, on June 7, 2021, Microstrategy announced that it would issue $400 million in bonds to finance additional Bitcoin purchases
By March 2022, MicroStrategy had taken out a $250 million loan to buy even more Bitcoin. During this period, there was speculation that Michael J. Saylor might have to sell some BTC, as the price was falling, potentially leading to the company’s liquidation.
However, Saylor’s strategy was to buy more.
Leaving the position of CEO of MicroStrategy
Still in 2022, more precisely in September, Saylor announced his departure from the position of CEO of Microstrategy.
During a live broadcast discussing the company’s balance sheet, he announced his departure and stated he would focus on developing Bitcoin-focused projects. However, he remains the executive chairman and retains over 64% of the voting power on the company’s board.
Some speculation arose at the time, as the company was experiencing losses, with Bitcoin’s falling value contributing to an almost $1 billion loss. However, this was an unrealized loss, as the company had not sold any of its Bitcoins.
Are you seeing this? When you understand Bitcoin, nothing shakes your confidence. Thus, he achieved some impressive results; in 2023, MicroStrategy shares soared by 337%, driven by the Bitcoin purchases that the company had been making. This placed MicroStrategy as the most profitable company in the sector, surpassing companies like NVIDIA and Meta.
Saylor Academy
Saylor Academy is a non-profit educational institution that offers free online courses in various fields, such as economics and history, with the goal of providing accessible education to everyone globally.
Founded by Michael Saylor, the academy emerged from his belief that quality education is prohibitively expensive and that most families, even with maximum savings, could not afford a four-week course at a reputable college.
Through Saylor Academy, Michael Saylor provides a range of free courses in administration, economics, communication, computing, political science, and much more.
In the third quarter of 2020 alone, the organization enrolled around 8,000 students.
Additionally, one of the free courses offered at the Academy focuses on Bitcoin. This course, categorized under “professional development,” is titled “Bitcoin For All.”
You can access this course for free here!
Will Michael Saylor Buy Bitcoin Forever?
Michael Saylor has repeatedly stated that he plans to buy Bitcoin indefinitely and has no intentions of selling, despite his company’s holdings showing an unrealized profit of $4 billion.
In an interview with Bloomberg, he declared:
“I will buy the top forever. Bitcoin is the exit strategy,” when asked if the company would consider selling its stockpile of 190,000 BTC, which equates to about $9.88 billion at current prices.”
He also emphasized the technical superiority of Bitcoin over traditional assets like gold, the S&P 500, and the real estate market.
“Bitcoin is technically superior to these asset classes. Therefore, there is simply no reason to sell the winners to buy the losers,” he said.
Moreover, Michael Saylor discussed ETFs and the growing demand for Bitcoin driven by them.
He noted that spot ETFs are facilitating the entry of institutional capital into the Bitcoin ecosystem, accelerating the digital transformation of capital. According to Saylor, every day, hundreds of millions of dollars are transitioning from the traditional system to the digital economy.
Conclusion
As you may have noticed, Michael Saylor is a very important personality in the Bitcoin community. His aggressive allocation strategy and influence have impacted many other entrepreneurs and companies.
Additionally, his frequent appearances on various podcasts and at Bitcoin-related events worldwide have further cemented his status in the industry.
Saylor exemplifies how even the staunchest skeptics can eventually become advocates. It’s hard to believe that he once doubted Bitcoin, considering he is now one of its most vocal supporters.
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Founder of Area Bitcoin, one of the largest Bitcoin education projects in the world, she is a marketer, passionate about technology, and a full-time hands-on professional. She has participated in major Bitcoin conferences such as Adopting Bitcoin, Satsconf, Surfin Bitcoin, and Bitcoin Conference.
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