Michael Saylor and Cathie Wood, both major figures in the bitcoin industry, took to the Nakamoto Stage April seventh, the first GA day for Bitcoin 2022 in Miami. The CEO of MicroStrategy and Ark Invest respectively, Saylor and Wood have long been seen as leaders in the traditional finance world’s embrace of bitcoin. It was no wonder then, that many at the conference excitedly awaited this talk.
Saylor has long been seen as the archetype of traditional finance embracing bitcoin HODLing. As highlighted here by Bitcoin Magazine’s Dylan LeClair, “MicroStrategy Is Writing The Corporate Bitcoin Accumulation Playbook.”
Wood also has track record of creating research material designed to specifically convey the value proposition of bitcoin to traditional financial investors. It’s incredibly important to have people representing bitcoin at these levels, especially as attention increases. Their broad appeal is a result of their capacity for impact on Bitcoin adoption.
Saylor opened with, “I would like to clarify, I am more bullish than ever on bitcoin.” The crowd roared — it was absolutely what everybody wanted to hear. But the conversation of course went deeper than that. As they turned their focus to politics and regulation, Wood stated, “I think the most interesting thing thats happened … I’m seeing the politics around bitcoin changing radically. Because it has become the single issue that some people are voting on, and this is bipartisan.”
Saylor, in agreement talked about his current thoughts on the regulatory environment. “I think the last 12 months have been a 180 degree turn.”
“I think a couple weeks ago, with the executive order, what we had was the President of the United States giving a green light to bitcoin.”
On technology, Saylor explained, “I think that technology is going to drive the adoption of bitcoin more aggressively in the next 36 months.” Indeed Wood agreed; “Follow the developers, I think we’re gonna see an explosion of developers focused on the Lightning Network.”
Bitcoin 2022 is part of the Bitcoin Event Series hosted by BTC Inc, the parent company of Bitcoin Magazine.