Michael Saylor and Microstrategy spent the last few years making a lot of news in the Bitcoin. Much of this was derived by the company buying a great deal of it. It is one of the largest holders of the leading cryptocurrency.
For this reason, Microstrategy became the "gold standard" of Bitcoin holdings. Here is a company that reimagined their entire business model, making Bitcoin the core. This is leading to other opportunities that could roll out over the next few years, such as Saylor's concept of a "Bitcoin Bank".
It is foolish to believe that Microstrategy will be the last company to do this. In fact, it is likely that, while not completely reinventing one's business, many companies will have Bitcoin on their balance sheet.
The digital asset game is just getting started.
That said, there might be another company that is going after Microstrategy's crown.
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Samara AG appears to be making news with its desire to catch up to Saylor. This is going to be tough since Microstrategy is sitting on more than $10 billion in BTC. Nevertheless, the company is evidently going on a buying spree.
Before diving into that, who is Samara AG? From its website:
SAMARA SEEDS THE WOLDS BEST EMERGING MANAGERS AND BUILDERS
Just as the samara’s wings protect and disperse its seeds, we leverage our robust balance sheet to seed the best emerging asset managers and back the world’s best builders in our unrelenting pursuit of advancing humanity through innovation.
Samara was co-founded by Christian Angermayer’s family office, Apeiron investment Group, crypto legend Mike Novogratz, and is led by CEO Patrick Lowry.
We believe the future of global finance is decentralized and democratized, empowered by Bitcoin and other innovative technologies.
That explains a lot. Seeing Mike Novogratz involved clarifies a great deal. He is a well know crypto advocate, running Galaxy Investment Partners.
Therefore, in my view, we can take this claim as real. The focus upon crypto is now established with people who are accustomed to raising money from investors. It could be the start of another player adding large chunks of Bitcoin.
Here is how they are starting:
Adding to the bullish sentiments, Germany’s Samara AG has made waves in the crypto world by announcing a €30 million investment in Bitcoin, setting its sights on matching MicroStrategy’s impressive Bitcoin holdings.
Obviously, there is a long way to go before they are even within sight of Microstrategy. That said, a firm has to start somewhere.
Samara AG’s CEO, Patrick Lowry, confirmed the firm’s long-term commitment to holding and expanding its Bitcoin reserves. In a statement, Lowry expressed admiration for MicroStrategy’s strategy, saying it would be a “dream” to accumulate as much Bitcoin as Saylor’s firm. To fund this acquisition, Samara has issued €30 million in bonds, solidifying its position among institutions that are heavily investing in Bitcoin.
Once again, we see the strategy employed by Saylor. Issue bonds to raise capital which is then used to buy Bitcoin.
This is simply another example of how traditional financial firms are taking over, at least when it comes to Bitcoin.
As we can see, Samara AG is focusing upon catering to institutions. It is issuing "paper" that companies are buying. This is not open to the general public. This is also why the target of Microstrategy is not completely outlandish.
Firms like these can tap into a lot of money. The capital markets, globally, are enormous. Actually, 30 million euros is just a teaser; chump change in the world of international finance.
Consider the fact that OpenAi just raised $6.6 billion in its latest round of funding. The numbers do get into the billions rather quickly.
It is most evident that we are going to see a great deal of buy pressure over the next few years for Bitcoin. When firms start operating in this manner, it is easy to see how quickly things can grow.
While many scoff at the notion of "paper" assets, it actually is what enahnces the price of the underlying asset. This is because we have a liquidity layer that wouldn't otherwise exist along with settlement systems that are aligned for institutions.
The net result is likely that the price of Bitcoin will go much higher over time. Microstrategy might have been the first (at least most well known), but we can already see it will not be the last.
Ultimately, the number of firms operating from this perspective will be few. As stated, I think the true explosion comes when most companies (or funds) decide they need some exposure to Bitcoin. This will almost always be done through the "paper" products.
Of course, it also means, depending upon the product, that the firm issuing said instrument has to buy the BTC. We see this here how the bond sale led to the crypto purchase.
Do not be surprised if, at some point, more than half the Bitcoin is held by major companies and funds. It simply is another path forward for Wall Street.
Whether this is a good or bad thing, depends upon one's perspective.
Whatever that is, it is likely that moves like this will send the price of BTC higher.
