Michael Saylor is a name that is basically become synonymous with Bitcoin (BTC) advocacy and has never shied away from controversial visions, but his recent suggestion during the Crypto Summit that the United States should acquire between 5% and 25% of the total Bitcoin supply sparked a lot of debate in the crypto community and in traditional finance.
The audacity of the proposal — essentially positioning a nation-state as a major Bitcoin whale — has led some, like John Deaton, a legal expert and XRP holder in the high-profile SEC v. Ripple case, to speculate whether this strategy could make Saylor the world's richest person.
Alex DovbnyaRight now, Saylor has a net worth of $7.3 billion, which puts him at number 439 on Forbes' list of the world's richest. But the company he cofounded, Strategy, already has a huge 499,226 BTC, which is about $41.65 billion at Bitcoin's current price of $82,000. Its market cap is $73.7 billion.
Is it real?
If Saylor or the U.S. — or maybe even both — got their hands on 25% of all Bitcoin, they would be sitting on a massive 5.25 million BTC.
What will happen with the price of the cryptocurrency is hard to guess. That kind of wealth would send Saylor's net worth soaring way beyond Elon Musk's, who is currently sitting at the top of the list with a net worth of $321.4 billion.
Gamza KhanzadaevSome people might think Saylor's idea is a bit crazy, but it is not as far-fetched as it seems. As digital assets become more and more a part of the global financial world, these kinds of ideas are starting to blend the lines between just being a guess and being a real plan. So, it is no surprise that Saylor's big plan is hard to ignore.
Deaton's comments are a mix of skepticism and intrigue, but the big question is: can anyone or any nation really get their hands on such a huge chunk of a decentralized asset that is meant to resist concentrated power?
Vladislav Sopov
Dan Burgin