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Michael Saylor Interview: Does not rule out continuing to sell coins for tax benefits, in response to criticism from Charlie Munger

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Michael Saylor Interview: Does not rule out continuing to sell coins for tax benefits, in response to criticism from Charlie Munger

MicroStrategy's board member Michael Saylor was interviewed by CNBC, where he discussed the company's underperformance in financial reports, MicroStrategy's steadfast Bitcoin strategy, and responded to recent criticisms of cryptocurrency by Charlie Munger.

Commitment to Long-Term Bitcoin Strategy

When asked about the Bitcoin accounting loss on the Q4 financial report, Michael Saylor attributed it to accounting issues. He emphasized that their long-term strategy remains to purchase and hold Bitcoin, while maintaining a high level of transparency and responsibility in their strategy.

The digital assets on MicroStrategy's financial report have accumulated impairment losses of 2.153 billion USD. However, based on the previously recorded coin purchase cost, MicroStrategy's actual loss is estimated to be around 1 billion USD.

Saving $34 Million in Taxes

Last year, MicroStrategy sold Bitcoin for tax-saving purposes for the first time. This operation raised the host's curiosity about whether they plan to sell more Bitcoin in the future.

Michael Saylor explained that they have been exploring ways to leverage Bitcoin's high volatility. The operation at the time resulted in a tax loss of approximately 34 million USD, which could offset the corresponding taxable income.

He emphasized that similar opportunities may arise in the future, but MicroStrategy will execute them with caution and responsibility.

Promoting the Lightning Network

Saylor mentioned that the Lightning Network is currently the most exciting development in the digital currency field. He described the Lightning Network as a second-layer network for Bitcoin, an open-source protocol designed for fast and low-cost Bitcoin transfers.

He believes that fundamentally, the Lightning Network is like the currency on the TCP/IP protocol of the Internet. Just as the world changed dramatically with the introduction of the Internet protocol for data and voice transmission, the Lightning Network in the future could provide real-time transactions for millions of businesses and billions of consumers.

He revealed that MicroStrategy is working on building enterprise-grade Bitcoin Lightning Network services, planning to provide Bitcoin rewards for all potential users, such as integrating with frequent flyer miles reward programs.

Response to Charlie Munger

Charlie Munger recently criticized cryptocurrencies again, calling for the U.S. to ban them entirely, following the example of China.

Saylor acknowledged that there are indeed thousands of cryptocurrencies that are no different from gambling. He pointed out that critics like Charlie Munger, although representing Western elites, do not actually have time to study cryptocurrencies and yet are constantly asked to comment on Bitcoin.

He stated:

If Charlie Munger were a business leader in Africa, Asia, or South America, and spent a hundred hours studying Bitcoin, he would definitely be more bullish on Bitcoin than I am. I sincerely believe that these Western elite representatives do not have time to properly research. I have never met anyone living in other countries who has spent time studying but still has no interest in Bitcoin.

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