Is Bitcoin a safe investment? | Michael Saylor and Lex Fridman

Lex Fridman Podcast full episode: • Michael Saylor: Bitcoi...
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GUEST BIO:
Michael Saylor is the CEO of MicroStrategy and a prominent holder and proponent of Bitcoin.
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[@spleenware]

The biggest thing the every-day person does NOT factor in to the 'value' of Bitcoin is how many attacks it has survived.

[@jackstarling2795]

Literally tens of thousands

[@Chris-pp8fm]

Everyone with the ability saw that as a target and went at it for years, it’s crazy they survived at all tbh

[@zaboomafia]

7:25 Saylor gives us the bird!

[@Elmesal]

Bitcoin is the mother of all ponzi-schemes. The bubble-burst will be like a supernova creating poverty for a lot of people.

[@cybertrk]

He’s saying his risk is bleeding off with time.

[@mateobenjamin2004]

Trading has been very vital for me since the pandemic all thanks to Laytontrades for his Bitcoin platform it has been a great experience/investment for me and my family. Thanks for all you do sir and God bless.

[@mateobenjamin2004]

He is on what'sapp

[@auction00]

The government did their "very best" to stop the truckers from using Bitcoin.......they couldn't stop it!!! "They could find it", but couldn't see who was using it or stop them from using it. Ottawa now has a Bitcoin economy that was started with the truckers. Bitcoin is in a class of it's own.

[@Jake_Hamlin]

Depends what exchange they were using...

[@techlord4019]

@@Jake_Hamlin you dont need any exchange to use Bitcoin since its non custodial by nature. They can just have private peer to peer non custodial wallets. People buy and sell BTC in person for cash too and many services online allows prepaid debit or gift cards and it will continue to evolve. You never need to cash out via an entity whos gonna track or freeze your PROPTERTY as defined by the SEC and others govs around the globe.

[@_matis_]

@@techlord4019 I totally agree with you. But if governments are stopping fiat on/off ramps, the usage will be crippled. All you can do is sending it from wallet A to wallet B. If you wanna cash out into fiat, you need to take alternative routes which isn't really good for adoption...Also it could be considered as a criminal act to cash out from fiat into crypto. It would be hard to track but it still would be apita. I guess Bitcoin is here to stay, the only question is, will it be the "money of outlaws" or a legitimate store of value

[@jasttv3830]

He’s right 1 year later

[@finkomsky]

Let’s see in another year 🤣🤣

[@jonjones655]

What happens if someone sets off an EMP?

[@Phoenix-Brah]

Other half of earth still has a copy

[@ghettosega8071]

A satellite is running a node

[@shawn-zx9xt]

You'd have to destroy the entire grid across the entire world. At that point we would all have much more important things to worry about. If your area has an emp attack. There are miners and nodes securing your value all over the world. Your bank will have more obstacles and will take longer getting back online then your keys. Not to mention a mountain of security concerns in such an event.

[@ralfbo685]

When the EMP goes off, it'll take some time, we just turn on the internet again. We will never go back to a stone age. Every year that passes we are more apocalypse resistant.

[@Thwumpus]

What if there's an asteroid impact? What if we nuke ourselves? What if Y2K happens 25 years later? C'mon, banks stop working if computers stop working. This is not a risk just to Bitcoin.

[@ManGrieves]

can't wait to move into my new digital condo

[@godmcenroe5836]

i would imagine interviewing such a figure is akin to Bull Fighting .

[@Greg766]

You can’t rent a digital building. It’s tough to live in.

[@marshall8898]

yes you can you just need a vr headset

[@BigJunkCrypto]

You don’t need to rent it, that’s positive cuz it’s less work and better benefits.

[@Tigster]

Everyone is underestimating Bitcoin.

[@Blablablarandomguy]

Smart people are waking up to Bitcoin. You get the price you deserve. The ones who get it quicker will get it cheaper as well

[@AbcDef-jp5eg]

It's not even about deserving, it's only about did you buy or not.

[@daleroark730]

You and Max Kaiser say never sell a bitcoin I agree with you and principal but we don’t have your millions of dollars so how does a normal person live just looking at the bitcoin it ain’t gonna feed you you didn’t wanna close you it ain’t gonna help you

[@ifeanyichukwuOkonkwo]

Even if bitcoin could get banned, I think it's getting harder for that to happen. Enterprise platforms like UnidoEP, Fireblocks, LMAX, etc have been drawing in institutional investors into crypto and that is going to give bitcoin some corporate power to fight governments that want to ban it.

[@gnarxy]

they won't ban it. They are currently trying to refine tax laws and other regulations. Regulations not for your protection so they can figure out how to exploit it like they do with insider trading with stocks. It's here to stay b/c they too will make money off of it.

[@ifeanyichukwuOkonkwo]

@@gnarxy I think you may be right about that. I still think the presence of institutions can help stabilize this industry. The taxes would be terrible if they are anything like that of the US or India.

[@dropshipincanada]

you cant ban bitcoin lol you can sell and buy between each other without the government all you need is internet also you can cash out crypto using peer 2 peer platforms they can just send you wire transfer and you send them btc or they give you cash and you send them btc

[@user-ls7xf4lk6t]

Blackrock now has a hefty bag so no chance it will get banned. Blackrock rule the world, they tell governments how high to jump.

[@es330td]

The US government doesn't have to ban it. All they have to do is do what they did to online poker sites and prohibit banks from interacting with companies dealing in crypto. Same thing they've done with marijuana companies. They can't eliminate it but they can make it very inconvenient for all but the most motivated to hold.

[@arshmanhassan8628]

BITCOIN TO THE MOON 🚀

[@TheDarkchum1]

I agree that today it is much riskier to NOT invest in crypto and keep your money in dollars.

[@javiera4148]

I am new to crypto investment.. Should I buy up Solana or bitcoin.. i have a 20k budget. Would appreciate any advice from those who have found success.. ps i intend to buy and hold with a 3 year timeline.

[@williamanders6497]

BTC

[@TheMrNatural]

BTC always

[@zaboomafia]

@7:25 Saylor gives us the bird!

[@daleroark730]

I agree with you and Max Kaiser that you should never sell a bitcoin but if you’re not a millionaire what do you do look at it it can’t feed you at Cain’s house you can’t take care of your children what good can it do right there that it should

[@thistle_boy]

Look at the Bitcoin chart since inception. It's just gone up. The only risk is being foolish enough to sell at a loss. Anyone who invested between 2009 and 2020 is in the green. Same will be true for anyone buying this year and comparing with 2030.

[@derp.2898]

To be fair, this isn't definitively true, but I'm with you in thinking this is highly likely the case. BTC is seemingly the future, or will be crucial to it.

[@erickroungold5177]

“Past performance is not indicative of future results.”

[@TeznaGFX]

was you here for the 2017 crash?

[@Jerryfromtheblocm]

It goes up until it doesn't big boy

[@PvtSugar]

It’s what you like to believe. It’s a speculative asset. The way I look at it is as an experiment. The question is, do you want to participate in this experiment. The logical answer would be yes, but to advocate belief & pass it on as fact is ridiculous.

[@ashvoj]

Won't get to 100 trillion this decade, maybe 10 trillion

[@willspeakman2461]

Yeah that's pretty insane claim. 10 trillion I could see. 100 trillion would be 5% of global wealth. Currently we are at 0.1%. Gold is around 2% and that has been around forever.

[@brent4073]

@@willspeakman2461 And that 99% of that gold just sits around. Might as well collect titanium or lithium or copper too!

[@qdajns681]

ofc he say its risk free with billions invested

[@daleroark730]

Yeah you and Max Kaiser and a few other swear never sell your bitcoin and principle I agree but if I don’t have your millions of dollars what am I supposed to do just look at it will it feed me will it close with me

[@dark_winter8238]

It is just a greater fool sceme. You're fine as long as you don't buy last.

[@ralfbo685]

Well Michael Saylor claims Microstrategy is going to buy at the tops forever. Also, if enough of the world has Bitcoin, then it will literally be too big to fail.

[@dark_winter8238]

@@ralfbo685 history has proven nothing is to big to fail

[@barsusbar2589]

@@dark_winter8238 It may be like conventional currencies. The only reason Btc is so volatile is because it doesnt have enough volume YET.

[@roberthdg]

people in places like Argentina and Venezuela would disagree, there's no buying last because it will always have demand, like gold and any other store of value asset.

[@RBturbolover]

This exactly. And why does your average Joe Schmoe even care about Bitcoin? Because they hope they can sell it later…for dollars…

[@300zxster]

I believe in Bitcoin and think it's the only legit coin for the people. Why couldn't they make exactly the same Bitcoin. Copy the same code and do it the same.

[@Northstar2000]

Bitcorn is the safest investment. Buy as much of it as you can and hodl hodl hodl like a low iq degen

[@YouTubecensored]

He is wrong the risk now equals less rewards

[@DaniDasK]

This makes no sense to me. A digital building doesn't cover the same necesity as a physical buildings. It's like saying I'm gonna start buying digital food instead of physical food. Good luck with that.

[@Keilop]

he's talking about buildings as an asset to grow one's wealth not as a home to live in. Property value goes up because there's only so much space in NYC

[@ZackLee]

Thats why you're not rich, you dont understand the scarcity of the macro economics of property nor bitcoin

[@DaniDasK]

@@Keilop I got that, but he literally said that a digital building is better because you can rent it to anyone in the world with no maintenance cost. Like the demand would be the same. 10:18

[@4evahodlingdoge226]

@@Keilop The property values goes up because they have a demand that isn't going away ever as people need places to live and to work vs Bitcoin which is something that humans have no real NEED for.

[@ZacksLab]

​@@DaniDasK you're thinkin about this too literally. digitizing food is obviously infeasible from the standpoint that you can't eat it. thinking abstractly, you can digitize the representation of food and use this as an aid in exchanging food for other items of value (which can also be digitally represented). do you use fiat currency? do you wake up every day with the goal of getting more of it? well, good luck eating it. at some level you've accepted the abstraction/technological innovation that is money and currency. bitcoin is about abstracting the value that is in everything (food, buildings, anything) such that it can be digitized in a safe way that no person, corporation, or government can hack/distort/inflate. bitcoin is an amazing gift to humanity, it will just take a while for people to understand how profoundly significant of a technology it is. if you're stuck alone on an island, 100 billion dollars, 21 million bitcoin, a tonne of gold, or a building in Manhattan will do you no good. that's not to say they are not any good when you're not stuck on that island.

[@BobbyHo2022]

investments just mess with my mind. all we can do is make educated guesses and wait

[@bengsynthmusic]

No. Day trading is what messes the mind. On investing, you make fundamental analysis and determine if it brings enough value to the table. If you're unsure, you wait for the investment to grow something. The earlier you invest during the growth, the greater your rewards.

[@Morning_Rays]

Simple case against crypto is that a common man doesn’t see it as normal currency. It’s more of a speculative instrument for trading.

[@Adam-ug7zn]

Doesn't matter so long as adoption happens. What they "think" it is is irrelevant once it's so ubiquitous. Bitcoin is the trojan horse that can destabilize the entire banking system whilst the very same banks pour money into it to get rich.

[@Smashingbonejuices]

That’s exactly what it is

[@ralfbo685]

Doesn't need to be a normal currency, not yet. Right now, it's an investment for wealth preservation.

[@distantyahoo]

@@Smashingbonejuices it is many different things to many different people. the above example is just one.

[@Smashingbonejuices]

@@distantyahoo I think it's viewed in many different ways but ultimately the only reason people buy is because they think it will go up in value.

[@polysopher]

Aged like milk

[@alexxccccxbbb9952]

What was that?

[@stevesabol2948]

Your comment aged like milk 😮

[@themossinator]

1) what

[@lemonwidget]

You mean like wine

[@polysopher]

@@lemonwidget if you’d put 1000 usd in BTC during 2021, you will have the same amount today. Isn’t it?

[@jacquesbromby448]

Ahahaha how is it a safe investment when the lights go out?

[@lemonwidget]

If the lights really went out nothing would save you.

[@finkomsky]

No is the answer

[@alexhall1862]

This guy doesn't say 'I think' enough. He's really sure of himself.

[@drewwood5778]

Saying “I think” is redundant. If you really think about it

[@bgockel]

The dude is a muti billionaire. Of course he's sure of himself.

[@chaindrive_blvd]

He's already done all the thinking...i think. lol

[@Tigster]

He has already done the thinking.

[@GraemeSurveillance]

Xrp is more likely to be the reserve currency.

[@jackstarling2795]

Read the bitcoin standard prior to making outrageous statements like that

[@lemonwidget]

This is so embarrassing.

[@GraemeSurveillance]

@lemonwidget What's more embarrassing is being little fanboys of online networks lol. I'm AOL for life haha

[@GraemeSurveillance]

@jackstarling2795 Outrageous lol. I'm not knocking Bitcoin, it's the pioneer of the space. no, I don't think it's going away, but it's definitely not going to be used as a medium of transacting on a daily basis between bank to bank or from peer to store. Technology evolves all the time, there is better tech out there than Bitcoin now.

[@lemonwidget]

@@GraemeSurveillance do you understand what tcp/ip is?

[@jocelynstory2277]

The only way to ensure that Bitcoin is a safe investment is by not only trading Bitcoin but getting more miners online, whether that is more ASIC miners or more people using PCs while not gaming, the number of miners needs to increase to ensure that Bitcoin stays a solid investment and it can continue to rise.

[@vp3579]

there is no such thing as safe investment.

[@bengsynthmusic]

You're correct. Miners are the backbone of blockchain. Usage needs to increase as well. To do that, there ought to be good incentives. Cheap fees for the user, and good rewards for the miners. Something like monero is good on those.

[@barfly1984]

Bitcoin is Yahoo. Wait for Google

[@fredriks5090]

Google is already in on Hedera. If Google is who you want to copy.

[@jackstarling2795]

Bruh, read the bitcoin standard.

[@ralfbo685]

Bitcoin is not even close to a Yahoo or other company. Bitcoin is more like the internet protocol, TCP/IP. There will only be one and it will be BTC

[@jackstarling2795]

@@ralfbo685 based

[@stevesabol2948]

@@fredriks5090 you are the one funding Hedera, you know that right

[@user-qc7dr3cd3q]

This clown selling the emperor's new clothes.

[@jackstarling2795]

Maybe spend some time learning about it seeing as most of the worlds super entrepreneurs and investors are coming around to it and getting involved

[@citiessportsbar6475]

So you’re saying there’s a chance …

[@bobhope707]

Answer: Absolutely not, from volatility standpoint. Only as a small % of your portfolio is it worth investing in.

[@eweseloh]

volatility seems to be to the upside too? What would be the right portfolio allocation in this market?

[@ThomasPisz]

wrong.

[@calebtyhowell2087]

Volatility is a natural part of an asset with an adoption yield curve. Which is my it makes sense to look at crypto from a logarithmic scale, as it is still a young asset class relative to the market cap of other assets (ex. gold) You should consider asymmetric risk when thinking about cryptocurrency; rather than volatility. Of course, not financial advise.

[@celpabedn]

Bitcoin is the new Amway, the new arrivals make old ones rich, thus promulgating more of the investment! Algorithm is a way of saying, it's too complex to talk to you ordinary people..

[@jackstarling2795]

Totally wrong and misinformed. The algorithm is the pre set monetary policy. Read the bitcoin standard

[@jaredlodico]

Why do people compare Bitcoin to gold as a way to exchange value? Gold has an actual purpose in building technology, it’s not just a thing used to store one’s net worth.

[@cyeamaculture8486]

The gold that is used in making stuff isn't the same gold that people invest in and lock away in vaults... investment gold has no utility

[@leonaj.5835]

@@cyeamaculture8486 not everyone invests in gold certificates & most people buy physical gold which are bought as dowry or inheritance for the next generation. In (affluent) Asian culture, this is common. 24k Gold is gifted by family members and friends to every newborn in the family & that baby can do whatever he/she wants with it in adulthood or choose to pass the gold to their own kids when the time comes.

[@cyeamaculture8486]

@@leonaj.5835 Yes, I can see that..but the original post was about gold being used to build things(presumably things like computer chips etc) most people you mention that pass it on to keep wealth in the family will have no intention of using it for making things..

[@cyeamaculture8486]

@@Mike_Oxhuge_ I know what fungibility means.. what's your point ?

[@jackstarling2795]

You are looking at it from the wrong paradigm. Learn about the characteristics of money. Look up bitcoin fidelity report 2022 or read the bitcoin standard

[@armo4594]

Bitcoin has no value, it has a price. If you want Value, asset, commodity, tangibility, money. Only Gold it's virtually indestructible and not created by a human.

[@harbster2]

Bitcoin was initially supposed to be a medium of exchange, bypassing central banks, but it proved to be too expensive for each simple transaction. So now it's being sold as a speculative investment. By the end of this year it could be worth $100k but at the same time it could be worth $1k. It's was too volatile to be a serious investment.

[@jackstarling2795]

Wrong read the bitcoin standard and then the block size wars

[@inQontroledQlimax]

Yeah that's a pretty misinformed opinion.

[@bitcoinomic]

LOL you're going to think about this in 2030 with intense regret if you don't get off zero

[@muaythaimfat2904]

Stay poor

[@harbster2]

@@muaythaimfat2904 "Stay poor"? I'm a millionaire. I've got a property portfolio with 5.6M. Good luck with your investments.

[@hangtime1111]

This guy is so insecure he just say words that doesn't mean anything like the democrates

[@rageius]

LMAO. Democrates. That was an ironic double entendre right? What a way to make yourself seem non credible and ignorant at the same time if not.

[@KStutsman]

He rambles a lot, but everything he's saying is logically thought through.