MicroStrategy founder Michael Saylor expects a decade-long Bitcoin «gold rush»

Michael Saylor, founder of tech giant #MicroStrategy, believes bitcoin will experience a "gold rush" phase in the next decade. He attributes this to the fact that institutional investors are increasingly embracing bitcoin, which is fueling its growth.

At the Bitcoin Atlantis conference, Mr. Saylor expressed that the emergence of cryptocurrency #ETFs and advances in artificial intelligence technology will fuel the rapid growth of the industry. Institutional investors are eager to acquire as much of the limited amount of bitcoin as possible.

Saylor predicts that the hype around bitcoin will last until 2034, after which it will gradually decline. This is due to the fact that 99% of the entire bitcoin reserve will have been mined by then. Currently, 93.5% has already been mined, according to Buy Bitcoin Worldwide.

Entrepreneur believes that SEC-approved cryptocurrency ETFs will become a "distribution channel" for 20% of interested parties. However, that figure is expected to rise to 100% if more banks and traditional financial firms enter the industry.

Mr. Saylor stressed that if customers can buy bitcoin through institutional banking firms and prime brokers, they will make important investment decisions faster. This will reduce resistance to bitcoin. He even predicts that the day will come when bitcoin will outperform gold and trade at a higher price than the S&P ETF index.

In addition to its financial potential, Mr. Saylor also noted the importance of bitcoin to internet security. He believes that bitcoin technology will become an indispensable tool for tasks such as time stamping, cryptographic signatures and ensuring content uniqueness.

Turning to the topic of artificial intelligence, Mr. Saylor expressed confidence that the active development of artificial intelligence technologies will benefit the digital asset industry. He suggested that if someone wanted to create a version of AI that would exist on the internet forever, the smart thing to do would be to allocate bitcoins to it. This suggests a potential demand for bitcoin in the AI sector.

However, Mr. Saylor also acknowledged the challenges facing both AI technology and bitcoin, especially in terms of #energy consumption. He noted that the US Department of Energy attempted to collect data on electricity consumption from #mining companies, but the companies protested and sued, resulting in the data collection being abandoned.

Mr. Saylor expects the #artificial intelligence sector to face similar challenges and resistance regarding electricity consumption. He believes that various stakeholders will actively oppose companies developing AI technology due to concerns over energy consumption.