Latest news with #MichaelSaylor
Bloomberg
an hour ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
AQR's Cliff Asness Sides With Jim Chanos in Critique of Michael Saylor's Strategy
AQR Capital Management 's Cliff Asness says he's in agreement with famed short seller Jim Chanos when it comes to his criticism of Strategy founder Michael Saylor's claim that the use of convertible debt affords the leveraged Bitcoin proxy downside protection while continuing to accumulate the cryptocurrency. The critique is centered around whether there is 'recourse' for the company formally known as MicroStrategy Inc. to pay back holders of its convertible bonds, through which Strategy raised roughly $10 billion to fund Bitcoin purchases. While Saylor said this type of debt 'is not going to get called' and can be paid off with stock if the price of Bitcoin tumbles, both Asness and Chanos disagreed. In a Friday post on social media platform X, Asness said Chanos 'is of course right.'
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
The Millionaire-Maker AI Cryptocurrency Hiding in Plain Sight
Despite the constant hype about artificial intelligence, most AI cryptocurrencies are down anywhere from 40% to 60% in 2025. While Bitcoin was never designed for AI, it has certain inherent characteristics that could make it useful in future iterations of AI. According to billionaire Michael Saylor, AI will be a demand driver for Bitcoin and other forms of digital capital. 10 stocks we like better than Bitcoin › The convergence of artificial intelligence (AI) with blockchain technology was supposed to produce a new crop of millionaire-maker "AI cryptos." Unfortunately, that hasn't been the case. Every single AI investment thesis has flopped this year, with many top AI cryptos down anywhere from 40% to 60% for the year. But what if we're looking in the wrong place? What if the millionaire-maker AI crypto is hiding in plain sight? Yes, I'm talking about Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC). During a recent Bloomberg interview, billionaire Michael Saylor, the founder and executive chairman of Strategy, suggested that the rise of artificial intelligence might actually be bullish for Bitcoin. As Saylor points out, AI agents will soon be conducting tens of thousands of micro-transactions per minute. As a result, they will need some form of digital currency to carry out those transactions. Saylor suggests that the Bitcoin Lightning Network, the super-fast payment network built on top of the core Bitcoin blockchain, might be the answer. In fact, he even calls AI a "demand driver" for Bitcoin. In many ways, Saylor's view of AI and Bitcoin is similar to the view held by Cathie Wood of Ark Invest. In 2023, the Ark Invest team discussed Bitcoin's potential to become "the currency for AI." This was less than one year into the ChatGPT revolution, but Cathie Wood was already talking about the role of AI agents. If you want these AI agents to do your tasks (such as buying something for you online), you're going to need to give them a way to pay for things. This is where Bitcoin enters the picture. Since a single Bitcoin can be split into 100 million different pieces (each known as a Satoshi), this makes it very useful from the perspective of micro-transactions. That's one big advantage that a digital currency such as Bitcoin has over traditional fiat currencies (which can only be split into 100 different pieces). The potential intersection of AI and Bitcoin raises all sorts of fascinating questions. Is Bitcoin really the best digital currency to carry out all of these AI micro-transactions? Can the energy-intensive Bitcoin network deal with the energy-intensive needs of AI? And, perhaps most importantly, will AI agents outsmart their human masters and decide to hoard all their Bitcoin, instead of spending it as they're told? Keep in mind: Bitcoin was not built for AI. Bitcoin launched in 2009, long before anyone was talking about ChatGPT, generative AI, or large language models. Obviously, there is no mention of AI in the famous Bitcoin whitepaper. However, in the whitepaper, Satoshi Nakamoto did describe Bitcoin as a "peer-to-peer electronic cash system." So, if you think about AI bots as being "peers," then maybe Nakamoto was right after all. Only it won't be the humans doing all the transactions on the electronic cash network -- it will be the AI bots. Right now, the core Bitcoin blockchain can't handle the massive activity load required by AI, since it can only handle a paltry seven transactions per second. So it will require new solutions built on top of the Bitcoin blockchain. For example, the Bitcoin Lightning Network can theoretically process more than 1 million transactions per second. If you're looking to invest in AI cryptos, there are plenty of options. According to CoinMarketCap, there are now eight AI cryptos with a market cap higher than $1 billion. The problem, quite frankly, is that their performance this year has been ghastly. Of these eight cryptocurrencies, the top performer has been Bittensor, which is actually down 17% for the year. Most AI cryptos are down anywhere from 40% to 60% for the year, and some smaller-cap AI cryptos are down 90% or more. You're probably not going to become a crypto millionaire investing in these coins. What's particularly striking is that nobody has been talking about the intersection of AI and crypto in 2025. For example, Sam Altman, the founder of OpenAI, recently penned a blog post on the future of super-intelligent AI ("The Gentle Singularity") and did not include a single mention of crypto. So maybe it's still too early to be talking about the intersection of AI and crypto, or the emergence of new millionaire-maker cryptos. Until other cryptocurrencies start inserting themselves into the AI narrative, I'm sticking with Bitcoin as the best AI play out there. Before you buy stock in Bitcoin, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the for investors to buy now… and Bitcoin wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $658,297!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $883,386!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 992% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 172% for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join . See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of June 9, 2025 Dominic Basulto has positions in Bitcoin. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Bitcoin. The Motley Fool recommends Bittensor. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. The Millionaire-Maker AI Cryptocurrency Hiding in Plain Sight was originally published by The Motley Fool Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
A $1 Billion Reason to Buy MicroStrategy Stock Here
The cryptocurrency market has regained momentum, with Bitcoin (BTCUSD) surging past $110,000 last week and flirting with its all-time high. With $9 billion in ETF inflows just last month, institutional giants are piling in. Plus, with President Donald Trump doubling down on Bitcoin, the leading cryptocurrency has a lot of support in 2025. Amid this crypto storm stands Virginia-based MicroStrategy (MSTR), now rebranded as Strategy, which has doubled down on Bitcoin. Over the past week it snapped up another $1 billion worth, pushing its total to a jaw-dropping 592,100 coins. The bold move came as digital assets whipsawed through volatility sparked by rising conflict between Iran and Israel, underscoring Strategy's unwavering bet on the world's top crypto. Is Palantir Stock Poised to Surge Amidst the Israel-Iran Conflict? 'It Has No Utility': Warren Buffett Doesn't Care How High Gold Goes, He Isn't a Buyer OpenAI CEO Sam Altman Says 'We Are Heading Towards a World Where AI Will Just Have Unbelievable Context on Your Life' Tired of missing midday reversals? The FREE Barchart Brief newsletter keeps you in the know. Sign up now! With $84 billion in capital earmarked through 2027, Strategy is not slowing down. Strategy remains one of the boldest ways to ride the crypto wave - an unapologetic bet on crypto's rise that deserves a serious look from investors. Strategy (MSTR), founded by billionaire Michael Saylor, has reinvented itself as the ultimate Bitcoin vault. Its market cap currently stands at $104.5 billion. Strategy has roared through 2025 with a 29.5% gain, leaving the S&P 500 Index's ($SPX) modest 1.7% rise in its rearview. Zooming out, the story sharpens - over the past year, the stock has surged 149%, turning heads and tightening its grip as one of the market's most explosive plays. Strategy's meteoric rise has catapulted the stock's valuation to 225.9 times sales, far above its sector peers and historical average. The market's strong belief in MicroStrategy's Bitcoin strategy drives its high valuation, reflecting both the risk and appeal of its crypto-focused approach. On May 1, Strategy dropped its fiscal 2025 first-quarter earnings, and like most things in crypto, the numbers told a tale of turbulence and bold ambition. Revenue dipped 3.6% year over year to $111.1 million, falling short of Wall Street's estimates. But what really raised eyebrows was the ballooning net loss to $16.49 per share in Q1, a steep descent from just $0.31 a year ago. Yet not all was bleak. Subscription services, Strategy's under-the-radar engine, saw revenue surge 61.6% to $37.1 million, signaling that there's more to this firm than just Bitcoin bravado. Liquidity also saw an uptick, with the company closing the quarter with $60.3 million in cash, up from $38.1 million in late 2024. Analysts monitoring Strategy project the company to flip the script and generate a profit of $7.30 per share in 2025. Bitcoin's rise from the fringes to the financial mainstream has been impressive. Once mocked by markets, it's now embraced by institutions, governments, and retail traders alike. Spot ETF approvals in 2024, which unlocked billions in inflows, and pro-crypto policies added rocket fuel. MicroStrategy's aggressive Bitcoin strategy is a double-edged sword. On one side, it offers unmatched upside - Bitcoin's rally could catapult the company's value into uncharted territory. As the largest corporate holder of Bitcoin, Strategy becomes a high-volatility proxy for the crypto king, no longer just a business intelligence and analytics software firm. Its $62.4 billion in BTC holdings far outweigh its software revenue. Recently, it bought 10,100 BTC for $1 billion - pushing its total to 592,100 BTC. But here's the catch. The core business - enterprise analytics – is not generating much cash, and BTC buys are funded mostly through stock offerings and debt, which risks shareholder dilution if BTC prices surge faster than Strategy's stock. If market sentiment sours or crypto takes a hit, Strategy could be exposed, stuck with expensive Bitcoin and little room to maneuver. Overall, Wall Street appears to be largely upbeat on MSTR stock, with a consensus 'Strong Buy' rating. Of the 13 analysts offering recommendations, 11 are giving it a solid 'Strong Buy,' one suggests a 'Moderate Buy,' and the remaining one advocates a 'Strong Sell.' The average analyst price target of $534.77 indicates impressive 42% potential upside from the current price levels. The Street-high price target of $650 suggests that MSTR could rally as much as 73% from here. On the date of publication, Sristi Suman Jayaswal did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. This article was originally published on Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
XRP Investors Have a New Strategy, and It's Straight From the Playbook of Bitcoin Legend Michael Saylor
The Bitcoin treasury company model, popularized by Michael Saylor, is now gaining traction with XRP investors. At least five different companies have unveiled plans to add significant amounts of XRP to their balance sheets. If this strategy catches on more widely, it could lead to a higher price for XRP by the end of 2025. 10 stocks we like better than XRP › After the 2024 presidential election, XRP (CRYPTO: XRP) skyrocketed by nearly 600%, hitting a 52-week high of $3.39 in January. Although it has cooled off considerably since then, that brief run was enough to galvanize investors from around the world to find creative new ways to get exposure to XRP. What's happening now is unprecedented in the history of XRP. Companies in industries not even tangentially related to crypto or blockchain are suddenly deciding to add XRP to their balance sheets. What do a Chinese transportation solution provider, a London-based renewable energy company, and a Florida-based pharmaceutical company have in common? They're all raising tens of millions of dollars and using that money to buy as much XRP as they can. There are now at least five companies worldwide that have embraced this strategy in just the past 60 days. The formula is very easy to follow: Find deep-pocketed outside investors, promise a high rate of return in exchange for investing in the business, and then start buying XRP. If this strategy sounds familiar, that's because it is. This is a version of the Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) treasury company model pioneered by MicroStrategy (NASDAQ: MSTR), which is now doing business as Strategy. During the past five years, Strategy has accumulated 582,000 Bitcoins, worth about $64 billion at today's prices. Michael Saylor, the founder and executive chairman of Strategy, discovered he could outperform Bitcoin by going all-in on this strategy. During the past five years, Bitcoin is up an impressive 1,000%, but Strategy stock is up a remarkable 3,200%. That's not just better than Bitcoin -- it's also better than any single company in the S&P 500. It's easy to understand the allure of the Bitcoin treasury company business model. Buying as much Bitcoin as possible leads to turbo-charged returns for investors. As long as the price of Bitcoin goes up, the valuation of any company that embraces this model should also go up. That explains why Strategy copycats are popping up everywhere. One drawback of the BTC model, though, is that it's prohibitively expensive. To achieve any scale, you need very deep pockets. A single Bitcoin costs more than $100,000, so table stakes for getting started with a BTC business model is already about $500 million. Compare that to XRP, which trades for about $2.30. The scale could not be more different. That's what makes the size of the recent XRP investment deals so staggering. For example, VivoPower International (NASDAQ: VVPR) recently raised more than $100 million from investors to power its XRP strategy. That $100 million will go a long way when you're buying a $2 digital asset and not a $100,000 digital asset. This isn't an endorsement to invest in any of these XRP treasury companies. Far from it. After all, they could collapse in value entirely if the price of XRP declines for an extended period. On top of that, there's the additional risk of investing in, say, a healthcare company or an energy company. These companies might make a windfall profit on their XRP investments but might be hemorrhaging money elsewhere. For that reason, Strategy has dropped any pretense of being a software company. It now refers to itself as a Bitcoin treasury company and has told investors it wants to be valued solely on the basis of the Bitcoin it owns. Based on initial estimates, it looks like $500 million has been funneled into this new XRP treasury strategy in just the past two months. Considering that the total market cap of XRP is $134 billion, it's probably still not enough to move the needle. But here's the thing: There are no spot XRP exchange-traded funds (ETFs) right now. As a result, investors could be hunting for XRP proxy stocks to get their XRP exposure. They might decide that investing in an XRP treasury company is the best way to get that exposure. The same phenomenon occurred with Bitcoin before the launch of the spot Bitcoin ETFs. Strategy was the Bitcoin proxy stock you had to own, even though it was an enterprise software company. Don't underestimate the potential for this XRP treasury strategy to really take off. Earlier this year, Wall Street predicted that as much as $8 billion might flow into new spot XRP ETFs, once they're approved. So there might be plenty of additional cash flowing into XRP soon via these XRP treasury companies. That said, I'm remaining on the sidelines. These XRP treasury companies are far too new and speculative. For exposure to XRP, I still prefer to invest directly. If all goes according to plan, all of this new money pouring into XRP will push its price even higher. Before you buy stock in XRP, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the for investors to buy now… and XRP wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $653,702!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $870,207!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 988% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 172% for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join . See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of June 9, 2025 Dominic Basulto has positions in Bitcoin and XRP. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Bitcoin and XRP. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. XRP Investors Have a New Strategy, and It's Straight From the Playbook of Bitcoin Legend Michael Saylor was originally published by The Motley Fool Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
1 Unstoppable Cryptocurrency to Buy Before It Soars 12,280%, According to MicroStrategy's Michael Saylor
MicroStrategy's Michael Saylor thinks Bitcoin has the potential to reshape the entire global financial system. Saylor predicts that one Bitcoin could trade for $1 million in a decade from now, and then for a whopping $13 million by 2045. There are some issues with Saylor's forecasts, but that doesn't mean Bitcoin is a terrible investment. 10 stocks we like better than Bitcoin › Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) has a market capitalization of $2.1 trillion, making it the world's largest cryptocurrency by a wide margin. In fact, it accounts for more than half of the value of all coins and tokens in circulation, which stands at $3.4 trillion as of this writing (June 14). A single Bitcoin currently trades for $105,000, but in an interview with Bloomberg last week, MicroStrategy (NASDAQ: MSTR) co-founder Michael Saylor said $1 million might be in the cards in the next 10 years. While that sounds ambitious, it isn't even his most bullish prediction. He also maintains a long-term forecast that suggests the cryptocurrency could reach $13 million by the year 2045. If Saylor is right, investors who buy Bitcoin today could earn a staggering 12,280% return over the next 20 years. But how realistic is his target? Bitcoin is a unique asset that investors increasingly view as a legitimate store of value. It's completely decentralized, so it can't be controlled by any person, company, or government. It also has a capped supply of 21 million coins, and it's built on a secure system of record called the blockchain, where transactions can be publicly verified. Michael Saylor thinks society would benefit from "tokenizing" every asset in the world onto a blockchain, as it would introduce transparency and solve inefficiencies in the current system. For example, there is no centralized database of private equity or real estate holdings in the U.S., which is why transactions often involve lengthy due diligence processes and incur steep legal costs. Saylor believes Bitcoin is the perfect reserve asset for the tokenization process due to its decentralized nature. In other words, it would be the currency everyone uses when buying, selling, and transferring tokenized assets, so owning Bitcoin would be a necessity for everyone who wants to participate in the global financial system. Saylor also thinks the current U.S. government could lay the groundwork for this new system, as President Donald Trump is arguably the most pro-crypto president in history. Trump has recruited several key personnel who share his enthusiasm for the industry, including Paul Atkins, who is now the chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Saylor says the first step is to create a digital assets framework to outline a clear set of rules and laws, which could encourage other countries to follow suit. With full global cooperation, he believes the world's $500 trillion in total assets can be moved onto the blockchain by 2045, which would drive the price of a single Bitcoin to $13 million. As I mentioned at the top, Bitcoin has a market capitalization of $2.1 trillion as of this writing. If its price rose to $13 million, its fully diluted market cap would balloon to an eye-popping $273 trillion (based on its capped supply of 21 million coins). That means Bitcoin would be worth almost 6 times more than the entire S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) stock market index, which is home to 500 companies with a combined market cap of $47.5 trillion. It would also be worth 9 times more than the annual output of the entire U.S. economy, which was $29.7 trillion last year. As a result, I think Saylor's target is unrealistic. Not to mention, convincing every government in the world to endorse tokenization and adopt Bitcoin will face significant social and political resistance. Every economy operates at a different speed, which is why the currency of each nation is valued differently. A weaker currency, for example, makes the exports of smaller countries appear more attractive, which helps them compete on the global stage. If every nation adopted Bitcoin, smaller countries would be forced onto a level playing field with economic powerhouses like the U.S. and China, where they would struggle to maintain their appeal as trading partners or as destinations for investment. Plus, floating-rate fiat currencies can help countries absorb economic shocks. When citizens of the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union in 2016, the British pound rapidly lost around 20% of its value relative to the U.S. dollar, which compensated for a potential economic slowdown by making British exports cheaper for foreign buyers. If the United Kingdom had adopted Bitcoin along with the rest of the world, it might have faced a prolonged recession. Although I think Michael Saylor's $13 million price target is unrealistic, it doesn't mean Bitcoin is a terrible investment. It's technically a scarce asset due to its fixed supply, which is a key reason why a growing number of investors view it as a good store of value -- kind of like a digital version of gold. The total value of all above-ground gold reserves currently stands at $23.1 trillion, so Bitcoin's market cap would have to climb tenfold to match. That implies a potential price-per-coin of $1.1 million, so Saylor's shorter-term target of $1 million might actually be achievable. Still, it's important for investors to remember that Bitcoin is a speculative asset. It doesn't produce any revenue or earnings, so its value can only be realistically tied to what the next person is willing to pay (which is always an unknown). Plus, Michael Saylor's company, MicroStrategy, owns 582,000 Bitcoin worth $60 billion, so he has a vested interest in issuing bullish forecasts. Before you buy stock in Bitcoin, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the for investors to buy now… and Bitcoin wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $653,702!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $870,207!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 988% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 172% for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join . See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of June 9, 2025 Anthony Di Pizio has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Bitcoin. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. 1 Unstoppable Cryptocurrency to Buy Before It Soars 12,280%, According to MicroStrategy's Michael Saylor was originally published by The Motley Fool Sign in to access your portfolio
