Saylor’s Bold Bitcoin Proposal: Could the US Buy 20% of the supply “For Free”?

Strategy co-founder Michael Saylor ignited a firestorm of debate at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) with a provocative suggestion: the U.S. government should acquire 20% of Bitcoin’s supply, potentially eliminating the national debt in the process. His assertion, made during his CPAC appearance, has sparked intense discussion among economists and cryptocurrency experts alike.

Saylor championed the idea of a strategic Bitcoin reserve, arguing that such a move would bolster the dollar’s strength. He stated, “the dollar would strengthen” if the federal government amassed a notable Bitcoin stockpile. This bold claim rests on the premise that the U.S., with its ability to print money, could effectively acquire a considerable portion of Bitcoin without significant financial strain. He elaborated, suggesting that acquiring 4 to 6 million BTC would be enough to “pay off the entire national debt“.

However, Saylor’s proposal isn’t without its urgency. He warned against inaction, claiming, “there’s only room for one nation-state to buy up 20% of the network.” He explicitly cautioned against other global powers acquiring this significant stake, stating, “you wouldn’t want the Saudis buying it first, or the Russians, or the Chinese or the Europeans.” This highlights a potential geopolitical dimension to the debate, suggesting a race for Bitcoin dominance among nations.

Saylor’s comments follow a wave of state-level initiatives exploring Bitcoin reserves. A bill in Utah recently received a positive recommendation from the state’s Senate Revenue and Taxation Committee,indicating growing interest in Bitcoin at the state level.Moreover, his proposal comes just a month after President Donald Trump signed an executive order establishing a working group to explore the possibility of a federal Bitcoin reserve.

Saylor emphasized the ease with which the U.S. could make such a purchase, stating the government could buy 20% of Bitcoin’s supply “like that“. His claim of acquiring Bitcoin “for free” likely refers to the government’s capacity to create an unlimited supply of dollars through treasury bonds. Currently, the U.S.government holds approximately 183,422 BTC (nearly 1% of the total supply), while the British government owns 61,245 BTC. Germany, however, sold approximately $2.8 billion in BTC last year.

Saylor’s firm, the recently rebranded Strategy (formerly microstrategy), holds over 430,000 BTC, the largest Bitcoin holding of any publicly traded company globally. Saylor previously pitched a similar Bitcoin reserve strategy to Microsoft’s board, suggesting in a December presentation that the tech giant could generate $5 trillion in shareholder value (by 2034) through BTC accumulation.To date, neither Microsoft nor other major tech companies have adopted this strategy.

Though not everyone shares Saylor’s enthusiasm. Longtime crypto skeptic and author David Gerard expressed skepticism, stating, “There is no plausible reason why either of these would be true or how the U.S.would benefit from all that Bitcoin. Saylor is advocating for U.S.government price support for Bitcoin and that’s all.“

Further skepticism emerged from MIT Cryptoeconomics Lab founder Christian Catalini, who argued in a recent OMFIF blog post that Bitcoin doesn’t meet the criteria for a reserve asset. He wrote, “Strategic reserves are meant to ensure stability and provide immediate access during a crisis. Countries store dollars or oil because they need them to repay debts, settle cross-border obligations and keep essential systems running when supply chains falter.” He also warned that a large-scale U.S. Bitcoin acquisition could undermine the dollar’s status as the world’s reserve currency, stating, “If the U.S. began amassing bitcoin on a large scale, it might be seen as a hedge against the dollar itself – raising alarms and giving rivals like China or Russia an opening to claim that the U.S. no longer trusts its own currency.“

These concerns cast doubt on the viability of national Bitcoin reserves, particularly given Strategy’s continued Bitcoin accumulation and its recent actions.Last month, Strategy’s shareholders voted to increase the company’s Class A shares from 330 million to 10.3 billion, part of efforts to raise $46 billion through equity and bond sales. Gerard suggests this might be a strategy to leverage Bitcoin as a proxy for dollars, allowing insiders to sell company stock in scheduled sales, a practice he warns has led to bankruptcy or restructuring in the past. He stated, “The same process happened with Bitcoin miners in the 2021-2022 bubble: the companies would talk Bitcoin slogans, but if you looked at the flows of cash it was about insiders making money from [stock] investors who should have known better, with the exit being bankruptcy or at the least restructuring.“

The debate surrounding Saylor’s proposal highlights the complex interplay between national economic policy, geopolitical strategy, and the volatile world of cryptocurrency. Whether the U.S. will embrace this bold strategy remains to be seen, but the discussion has undoubtedly placed Bitcoin at the forefront of national economic conversations.