Key facts
- Michael Saylor advocates for Bitcoin's expansion via financial markets, including banks and credit.
- He stressed the importance of treating Bitcoin's base layer as 'sacred infrastructure'.
- Innovation should primarily occur through higher layers and applications, according to Saylor.
- This strategy contrasts with passive spot ETF exposure, which is sensitive to redemptions.
- Saylor's comments follow a period of Bitcoin ETF outflows and broader market sell-offs.
MicroStrategy co-founder and executive chairman Michael Saylor has called for a 'disciplined expansion' of Bitcoin, suggesting its growth should occur through traditional financial channels such as banks, companies, securities, credit, and capital markets. In a recent essay, Saylor proposed that Bitcoin's base layer should be considered 'sacred infrastructure,' with most innovation and development taking place on higher layers, applications, custody systems, credit instruments, and financial infrastructure. This perspective comes at a time when Bitcoin is experiencing spot exchange-traded fund (ETF) outflows and a general market sell-off, which are testing institutional demand for the asset. Saylor's strategy emphasizes a model of corporate and credit-market adoption, which he favors, as distinct from the passive spot ETF exposure that has broadened access but remains susceptible to redemptions.