Dive into the Decrypt Scene: Bitcoin's Takeover of Corporate Treasuries
Bitcoin neglection deemed irresponsible by billionaire investor Tim Draper
Billionaire investor Tim Draper has thrown his hat in the ring for Bitcoin, arguing that any business clinging to non-Bitcoin for their corporate treasuries is playing fast and loose with responsibility. Speaking at the Financial Times Digital Assets Summit, Draper, a fierce Bitcoin supporter, declared that "everybody ought to have some Bitcoin," and went as far as to suggest that governments are beginning to recognize its potential as a financial safeguard.
Draper, who remains unwaveringly optimistic that Bitcoin will reach an astounding $250,000 by 2025, isn't stopping there. He plans to launch a fund in the next five years that will run entirely on the digital gold standard. "I raise it all in Bitcoin, I invest it in entrepreneurs in Bitcoin, all of them pay their employees and suppliers all in Bitcoin," Draper envisioned, pondering the possibility of a fund that would operate "on a smart contract," freeing him from accounting, legal, auditing, and bookkeeping hassles.
Gravitational Pull Toward Bitcoin
The gravitational pull of Bitcoin is undeniable, as an ever-growing number of companies recognize its potential and add it to their corporate treasuries. Notable examples include U.S. firm Strategy, medical device manufacturer Semler Scientific, and Japanese company Metaplanet. Most recently, Bernstein analysts predicted that corporate treasuries will absorb an astounding $330 billion in Bitcoin by 2029, as smaller firms begin to follow Strategy's lead.
Draper also suggested that there's a groundswell away from altcoins as a platform for development. "A lot of the creativity used to be around Ethereum, Solana," he said, pointing out that there's been a mass exodus of engineers and entrepreneurs flocking to Bitcoin. "So Bitcoin now has smart contracts, Bitcoin now has DeFi, it has Ordinals, it has Runes."
However, the increasing versatility of Bitcoin beyond financial applications has sparked controversy within the developer community. Bitcoin devs are currently at loggerheads over a technical change that would allow Bitcoin to store larger amounts of non-financial data directly on the blockchain. One longtime Bitcoin Core contributor has argued that this change would transform Bitcoin into a "worthless altcoin."
The Path to $250,000
The price of Bitcoin is currently hanging around $97,000, a dip of 11% from its all-time high set in January before U.S. President Donald Trump's inauguration. Draper attributes this to stiff regulatory control under the Biden administration. He compared the digitalasset to the discovery of gunpowder, arguing that "It's a complete change. You wouldn't do war the same way after gunpowder; you don't do commerce the same way after Bitcoin." Claiming that it's "just better technology," Draper expects that "eventually I believe that the path will be fiat to stablecoin to Bitcoin," and that eventually, "we're eventually going to see a time where we're really not measuring against the dollar, because there won't be a dollar."
Edited by Andrew Hayward
Image credit
Main image by Stephen McCarthy/Web Summit Rio via Sportsfile licensed under CC BY 2.0.
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- Tim Draper, a billionaire investor and Bitcoin supporter, believes that any business holding non-Bitcoin in their corporate treasuries is acting irresponsibly.
- Draper envisions a future where his fund will operate solely on Bitcoin, raising, investing, paying employees, and handling transactions all in Bitcoin.
- Strategy, Semler Scientific, and Metaplanet are among the companies that have added Bitcoin to their corporate treasuries.
- Bernstein analysts predict that corporate treasuries will absorb $330 billion in Bitcoin by 2029.
- There's a trend away from altcoins as a platform for development, with engineers and entrepreneurs flocking to Bitcoin.
- Bitcoin now has smart contracts, DeFi, Ordinals, and Runes, features that were previously associated with Ethereum.
- The controversial technical change in Bitcoin could potentially transform it into a "worthless altcoin," according to a longtime Bitcoin Core contributor.
- The price of Bitcoin is currently hovering around $97,000, a dip from its all-time high set in January.
- Draper compares Bitcoin to gunpowder, arguing that it changes commerce the same way gunpowder changed war.
- Draper predicts that the path to Bitcoin will be via stablecoin, and that one day we won't measure value against the dollar because there won't be one.
- Draper plans to launch a fund that will run entirely on the digital gold standard within the next five years.
- The gravitational pull of Bitcoin is undeniable, as more companies recognize its potential and add it to their corporate treasuries.
