Strategy (MSTR) executive chairman Michael Saylor says the Middle East has the opportunity to become the “Switzerland of the 21st century” by embracing Bitcoin-backed banking, credit and digital currencies.
In a wide-ranging address to the Bitcoin MENA region, Saylor urged the region to seize what he described as a $200 trillion opportunity to enable banks to custody Bitcoin, provide BTC-backed credit and ultimately launch yield-generating digital currency products.
“If you are interested in making your country the digital banking capital of the world…if you want to be the Switzerland of the 21st century, here are three ideas: big, bigger and biggest,” Thaler told the audience.
Thaler said it was a “great idea” for a sovereign wealth fund to invest in Bitcoin. A “bigger idea” is to create banks that would host Bitcoin and provide credit to it. The “biggest” idea is to create a digital currency account backed by a BTC credit facility, offering up to 8% yield and no volatility.
“You’re not going to withdraw a single bit of Bitcoin,” Thaler said. “You’re actually going to get billions, tens of billions, hundreds of billions, trillions of dollars of capital from people who don’t understand Bitcoin.”
Thaler claimed that the United States is now leading the global regulatory shift toward Bitcoin, noting what he said is near-unanimous support among government officials. “There is a deep consensus among everyone who governs America,” he said. “Donald J. Trump has expressed his determination to make the United States a Bitcoin superpower, the cryptocurrency capital of the world, and a leader in digital assets.”
He added that he had personally spoken with the Vice President, Treasury Secretary, SEC Chairman, Commerce Secretary, and other senior officials, and Thaler claimed that they all view Bitcoin as a strategic asset.
Thaler also said that U.S. banks that once refused to touch Bitcoin are now actively moving to support Bitcoin.
“All the big banks in the U.S. went from not supporting Bitcoin banking 12 months ago to in the last six months I’ve been approached by BNY Mellon, Wells Fargo, Bank of America, Charles Schwab, JPMorgan Chase and Citibank,” he said. “They’ve all started issuing credit against Bitcoin or Bitcoin derivatives like IBIT.”
Strategy holds more than 660,000 Bitcoins and is currently issuing a series of Bitcoin-backed credit instruments, including perpetual preferred shares and short-term notes that pay monthly dividends.
“We are converting a 120-month or 240-month duration into one month,” he said. “Pay me now.”
Thaler saw these innovations as the basis for a new financial system. “Digital capital creates digital credit, and digital credit creates digital currency,” he said. “This is the killer app.”
