According to Michael Saylor, AI and ETFs will fuel a ten-year “gold rush” for Bitcoin.
By the end of 2034, 99% of Bitcoin will have been mined, so institutions will vie for control of the rapidly diminishing quantity, Saylor said.
According to MicroStrategy chairman Michael Saylor, spot Bitcoin ETFs have set off an institutional “gold rush” for Bitcoin (BTC) that will last for ten years and be facilitated by the development of autonomous artificial intelligence.
Saylor said that Bitcoin has reached a phase of “high growth institutional adoption” after the introduction of spot Bitcoin ETFs during a panel discussion at the Bitcoin Atlantis conference on March 1.
“I believe that the Bitcoin gold rush is now underway. It will last until around November of 2034, having begun in January of 2024.
Saylor predicted that the “growth phase” would begin in 2035 and that by then, 99% of all Bitcoin will have been mined.
According to Buy Bitcoin Worldwide, almost 93.5% of the 21 million Bitcoins that will ever be released have already been mined.
MUST WATCH‼️ – Michael Saylor:
— Neil Jacobs (@NeilJacobs) March 1, 2024
We are in the Bitcoin Gold Rush era. It started in January 2024 and will last until the end of 2034 when 99% of all Bitcoin will have been mined. #Bitcoin pic.twitter.com/LbAAaYRgMo
Saylor said that just 10–20% of individuals who are interested are now being served by spot Bitcoin ETFs as a “distribution channel,” but as banks and institutional wirehouses begin to facilitate Bitcoin trading, he anticipates this number growing to 100%.
“They will decide how to spend $50 million in an hour when they have the option to purchase through their bank, institutional wirehouse, or prime broker.”
Saylor thinks that ultimately, the demands of their biggest customers will force practically all institutions to custodyate Bitcoin. “You will witness a decrease in resistance.”
“One day, Bitcoin will outperform gold and trade at a higher volume than S&P index exchange-traded funds.”
Bitcoin demand is being driven by autonomous AI.
As criminals try to take advantage of the AI revolution, Saylor believes that Bitcoin will be essential to protecting the internet.
“You’re going to need Bitcoin as a system of truth to actually watermark, timestamp, and cryptographically sign messages, documents, and content.”
Thus, Saylor said, “I believe AI will drive demand for Bitcoin in that way.”
Since Bitcoin would need the utilization of digital energy to run, Saylor clarified that advancements in autonomous AI will also help the cryptocurrency.
“You better give it some Bitcoin if you want to build an AI clone of yourself and have it exist on the internet forever. Therefore, I anticipate an intriguing demand function there.
Saylor believes that, if it hasn’t already, some of the fire around Bitcoin’s environmental implications is about to drop.
He said that lawmakers and environmental campaigners are beginning to focus on AI’s energy needs as Bitcoin has grown more energy-efficient.
“When it comes to AI, many of these hyperscalers want to scale up to 60 gigawatts this year and 600 gigawatts in the next ten years, so they’re going to inherit all of the energy FUD [fear, uncertainty, doubt] that we had in the past.”
Thus, they will really direct all of their lobbying toward it.
As I predicted, #Bitcoin will starve AI of energy – to death. #Bitcoin fights for humanity.
— Max Keiser (@maxkeiser) March 3, 2024
AI is fighting against humanity. https://t.co/MoUPsly7x6
Investment expert and Bitcoin analyst Lyn Alden said during the same panel discussion that if more governments begin to accept Bitcoin, there may be an increase in demand for the cryptocurrency.
Adopting Bitcoin has been seen to increase financial centers, which eventually draws money into these nations, according to Alden’s argument.
According to Alden, there are now many hotspots for Bitcoin throughout Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the United States. He said that “Bitcoin Beach [in El Salvador] was powerful enough that it inspired a nation to get more into it.”
Tether is expanding its energy investments, providing capital, tech expertise and advisory to the new venture Volcano Energy🌋
— Paolo Ardoino 🍐 (@paoloardoino) June 5, 2023
The potential of El Salvador 🇸🇻 as the global energy and #bitcoin hub is immense and at @Tether_to we're grateful to be part of this opportunity ❤️… https://t.co/wA3dnlQyjB
According to Alden, some nations have embraced a “short-term thinking” mentality and restricted or outlawed Bitcoin out of concern that it may endanger their own currency, which might ultimately lose them investment opportunities.
“We’ve seen in multiple countries now that those firewalls and capital controls to try to make the frictions just don’t work,” Alden added. “It’s just better to face that head-on and accept it.”
Lawrence Lepard, an enthusiast for Bitcoin and investment manager, continued, saying that money limitations originating from repressive countries only serve to accelerate adoption.
Nigeria is a prime example of this, as Alden pointed out, despite the nation’s prior prohibition on Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, it has the largest peer-to-peer market volumes globally.
“There will be new frictions and then frictions that are overcome because the tool is so powerful that there are a lot of ways to work around problems when they arise.”
