Michael Saylor is regarded as one of the most influential advocates of Bitcoin BTC/USD, and MicroStrategy Inc. MSTR, a software firm established by him, functions more like a proxy of the leading cryptocurrency.
But not many know that the Bitcoin evangelist wasn't bullish on the asset from the get-go. In fact, the man himself has expressed surprise at some of his old takes on the cryptocurrency.
What happened: On Dec. 19, 2013, Saylor tweeted something typical of any skeptic who may come to your mind while reading this article.
"Bitcoin days are numbered. It seems like just a matter of time before it suffers the same fate as online gambling," Saylor had remarked.
Saylor was asked about the tweet in a September 2020 podcast with Anthony Pompliano, founder and CEO of Professional Capital Management.
“I’m really ashamed to say — I didn’t know I tweeted it until the day that I tweeted that I bought $250 million worth of Bitcoin,” Saylor replied with a childlike glee.
"I literally forgot I ever said that," he added, admitting "what an idiot" he was.
See Also: Bitcoin ‘Not A Safe Haven’ But Rising Trump Odds Could Fuel A Rally: Standard Chartered
Why It Matters: Less than seven years from the tweet he forgot, Saylor's MicroStrategy adopted Bitcoin as its primary reserve asset, becoming the first publicly listed company to pursue this strategy.
The company hasn't looked back since then, and as of this writing, MicroStrategy is the world’s largest corporate owner of Bitcoin, with a stash worth more than $15 billion, according to bitcointreasuries.net.
Moreover, since adopting Bitcoin, MicroStrategy's stock has outperformed every company in the S&P 500, including AI powerhouse NVIDIA Corp. NVDA.
Meanwhile, Saylor's journey has been exciting, from saying "Bitcoin's days are numbered" to it being the "swarm of cyber hornets serving the goddess of wisdom."
He recently disclosed that he owned nearly $1 billion in the leading cryptocurrency and made his intentions clear to acquire more in the future.
Price Action: At the time of writing, Bitcoin was exchanging hands at $61,022.74, down 0.65% in the last 24 hours, according to data from Benzinga Pro. Shares of MicroStrategy closed down 0.75% to $163.41 during Thursday’s regular trading session.
What‘s Next: Anthony Pompliano will be a headline speaker at Benzinga's Future of Digital Assets event on Nov. 19.
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Photo courtesy: Wikimedia
© 2024 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
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