The founder of the business software company MicroStrategy remains one of the most vocal evangelists of the oldest cryptocurrency. Many times in the past, Michael Saylor has lauded the benefits of bitcoin, which he believes is the best investment.
Now, once again, the longtime bitcoin maximalist has spoken out in favor of the cryptocurrency after inflation in the United States inflation paced to a fresh four-decade high.
Saylor Praises Bitcoin
The latest report released by the U.S. Labor Department today revealed that the consumer price index (CPI) — a widely followed measure of inflation — rose by 1.3% in June, pushing the 12-month change to a new 40-year high of 9.1%. This is 0.3% higher than the 8.8% the markets were anticipating.
After the inflation data was published, Michael Saylor took to Twitter to share his view on the true value of bitcoin. Saylor noted that major global reserve currencies such as the Australian dollar, the British pound sterling, the euro, and the Japanese yen are already depreciating swiftly against the U.S. dollar, but soon enough, people will realize that one bitcoin is equivalent to exactly one bitcoin.
In other words, Saylor indicates that he doesn’t link the rate of bitcoin to fiat currencies. And despite the bearish macroeconomic backdrop that has put pressure on the bitcoin markets, its real value remains intact.
Today’s inflation report means the Federal Reserve will likely continue to hike interest rates aggressively in a bid to shrink the supply of U.S.dollars in circulation. Theoretically, this should decrease the consumer demand for goods and services and tame the rampant inflation.
Bitcoin saw a dramatic rally as the U.S. central bank and other banks around the world went on a money printing spree during the pandemic. At the time, there was an untested narrative that the benchmark cryptocurrency would act as a hedge against inflation because the asset has a capped supply of 21 million coins. Industry pundits argued that it would function as gold and protect investors against soaring prices.
Now as the Fed commits to raising rates to tamp down the highest inflation seen since the 1980s, the OG crypto is on track to post its worst quarter yet. Bitcoin dropped to as low as $18,912 on Wednesday after the report before rebounding slightly. Meanwhile, the paper loss for MicroStrategy’s BTC holdings has surpassed $1 billion. The firm currently owns a total of 129,699 bitcoins.
