News
Highlights from Day 2 of the Bitcoin 2024 Nashville Conference
Bitcoin 2024 Conference Day 2 Highlights: Saylor’s Insight and Lummis’ Comments Take Center Stage in Nashville
Nashville, TN — Day two of the Bitcoin 2024 Nashville conference featured high-profile speakers from both the technology and political realms, reflecting the cryptocurrency’s growing influence across multiple industries.
MicroStrategy CEO Michael Saylor delivered a keynote speech that outlined an ambitious future for Bitcoin, projecting its potential to significantly increase in value over the next two decades.
According to Saylor, Bitcoin, currently priced at around $65,000 with a market cap of $1.3 trillion, represents just 0.1% of global wealth. He laid out scenarios where Bitcoin could skyrocket to a market cap of $280 trillion by 2045, making up 7% of global wealth, if it achieved an annual growth rate of 29%.
Saylor even mentioned an optimistic prediction that Bitcoin could be valued at $49 million per coin, capturing 22% of global wealth, contrasting sharply with his pessimistic prediction of $3 million per coin and 2% share of global wealth.
Under Saylor’s guidance, MicroStrategy has accumulated 226,331 Bitcoin tokens over the past four years, now valued at approximately $15 billion — 80% more than the purchase cost, demonstrating the company’s deep commitment to Bitcoin.
No Lummis Strategic Reserve
Senator Cynthia Lummis, alongside Senator Tim Scott, also took the stage, addressing the regulatory landscape and potential future legislative actions. Contrary to previous rumors, there was no announcement regarding the establishment of Bitcoin as a strategic reserve asset for the U.S. Instead, Lummis criticized the SEC’s approach to regulation and emphasized revisions to the Republican Party platform to protect digital asset ownership.
The senators highlighted the critical role of Bitcoin mining in innovating within the energy sector and strengthening the U.S. energy infrastructure. Senator Tim Scott suggested future initiatives such as using Bitcoin to promote “opportunity zones” to stimulate development in underserved areas.
Robert Kennedy Jr. Goes Big
In a surprising turn of events, presidential candidate Robert Kennedy Jr. has made headlines by promising to designate Bitcoin as a strategic reserve asset for the U.S. if elected. Kennedy’s plan includes transferring about 200,000 BTC held by the government to the U.S. Treasury and directing daily purchases of Bitcoin to build a reserve of 4 million coins.
The conference also featured a virtual keynote address by Edward Snowden, who warned the crypto community about political engagements surrounding cryptocurrency. Without naming specific figures, Snowden advised attendees to remain independent in their judgments, emphasizing the importance of discerning self-interest in political promises.
As the Bitcoin 2024 conference gets underway, the mix of visionary economics, lively political discourse and warnings from exiled experts paints a complex picture for the future of cryptocurrency.
Tomorrow is the big day, President Trump will take the stage. See you then.
DAY 1 Highlights
The driving force behind the creation of Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) is client demand, according to Robert Mitchnick, head of digital assets at BlackRock. Speaking at the Bitcoin 2024 event in Nashville, Mitchnick noted that such funds are just beginning to gain traction. “It’s early days,” he explained to Bloomberg journalist James Seyffart.
BlackRock CEO Larry Fink, who was initially skeptical of cryptocurrencies when Mitchnick was hired in 2018, has since changed his stance, recently referring to Bitcoin as “digital gold.”
Mitchnick credited Fink’s transformation to his thorough study of the space, acknowledging Fink’s financial and geopolitical expertise. Mitchnick emphasized that larger forces, including institutional-grade infrastructure and crypto’s undeniable presence as an asset class and technology, played a role. The final push, he said, came from client demand.
The Rise of Cryptocurrency ETFs
Bitcoin ETFs have made a significant impact, with Seyffart highlighting their success as some of the most successful ETF launches in history. He estimated that the iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) contributed 20-25% of BlackRock’s revenue stream this year, making it the firm’s second most successful offering after the S&P 500 ETF.
Mitchnick explained that initial demand for the ETF came from direct investors, while institutional investors and BlackRock’s wealth advisory services are still in the early stages of adoption. He noted that major wealth advisory platforms such as Morgan Stanley, UBS, and Merrill Lynch have yet to offer Bitcoin ETFs on an as-needed basis, a process that typically takes several years. However, Mitchnick believes that this year could see an acceleration in this trend. He estimated that BlackRock’s Independent Registered Advisors who allocate funds to Bitcoin ETFs are currently allocating around 2-3%.
Robert Mitchnick on stage with James Seyffart. Source: X
Limited interest beyond Bitcoin and Ethereum
At the Bitcoin 2024 conference, Mitchnick stated that BlackRock sees “very little interest” among clients in cryptocurrencies beyond Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH). He does not foresee a proliferation of crypto ETFs outside of these two major assets. According to Mitchnick, client interest remains predominantly in Bitcoin, with some interest in Ethereum.
VanEck’s Bold Prediction – The $2.9 Million Bitcoin
In a related development, investment manager VanEck released a report predicting that Bitcoin could potentially reach a total market capitalization of $61 trillion, or approximately $2.9 million per coin, by 2050. This projection is based on the anticipated massive demand for Bitcoin as collateral for trade settlement and as a reserve asset for central banks.
The report suggests that Bitcoin could be used to settle 10% of global international trade and 5% of domestic trade by 2050, prompting central banks to hold 2.5% of their assets in BTC. VanEck also projected that Bitcoin Layer-2 (L2) solutions could collectively be worth around $7.6 trillion by addressing scalability issues and facilitating widespread adoption.
Economic Changes and the Role of Bitcoin
VanEck’s report highlighted that Bitcoin’s rise will be driven in part by a decline in global economic activity in major global economies such as the United States, the European Union, and Japan. It also pointed to a potential loss of confidence in these economies’ currencies due to unrestrained deficit spending, which could drive demand for Bitcoin as a neutral medium of exchange with immutable property rights and predictable monetary policies.
The declining use of the euro and Japanese yen in international settlements presents an opportunity for Bitcoin. The report noted that the euro’s share in cross-border payments has declined from 22% in the mid-2000s to 14.5% today, while the yen’s share has fallen from 6.2% to 5.4%.
Despite the potential, VanEck flagged challenges such as mining, scalability, and regulation as risks to Bitcoin’s continued adoption. The firm also noted that while gold remains a well-established global reserve asset, logistical, security, and financial integration issues pose obstacles to returning to a gold standard.
VanEck identified 16 high-potential Bitcoin L2 projects, including Lightning Network and Stacks, but noted that it is too early to declare winners among them.
Marathon Digital Holdings buys 20,000 BTC, will HODL
Marathon Digital Holdings Inc. (MARA), one of the largest Bitcoin (BTC) miners, has announced the acquisition of $100 million worth of Bitcoin. The company will HODL it, it said.
The company revealed on Thursday that he now holds more than 20,000 BTC, valued at nearly $1.3 billion based on current prices, and intends to continue buying more Bitcoin and HODLing it.
In a statement, Marathon CFO Salman Khan explained the decision, noting: “The recent decline in the price of Bitcoin, coupled with the strength of our balance sheet, has provided us with an opportunity to grow our assets. We look forward to continuing to leverage our technological expertise to support the Bitcoin and distributed digital asset ecosystems.”
This strategic shift to a “HODL” approach — holding on to all mined Bitcoin — marks a significant change for Marathon. The company had previously adopted a strategy of selling mined Bitcoin to cover operating expenses, especially during the crypto winter when the market fell sharply. This shift to liquidating assets was common among miners during the prolonged bear market. However, Marathon is now joining other miners who are returning to the strategy of holding on to their Bitcoin holdings, a tactic that has proven beneficial during previous bull markets.
Marathon Chairman and CEO Fred Thiel emphasized the company’s commitment to Bitcoin, stating on X, “Adopting a full HODL strategy reflects our confidence in the long-term value of Bitcoin. We believe Bitcoin is the world’s best treasury reserve asset and support the idea of sovereign wealth funds holding it. We encourage governments and corporations alike to hold Bitcoin as a reserve asset.”