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At the Bitcoin Atlantis conference in Madeira, Portugal, MicroStrategy Inc. Chairman Michael Saylor discussed Bitcoin and other topics with podcast host Natalie Brunell. One of the points of conversation surrounded the recently approved spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds ETFs and their ability to compete with other top asset classes and ETFs.
“We thought that maybe Bitcoin was a competitor to gold, but it has actually run up the leaderboard, and now it’s starting to nip at the heels of the S&P 500 Index ETFs,” Saylor said.
Bitcoin and gold are viewed somewhat similarly by some investors, as they have a limited supply and can be seen as a hedge against inflation. However, gold has been around for millennia, while Bitcoin is barely 15 years old. Bitcoin has quickly risen the ranks and Saylor no longer sees gold as the main competitor to Bitcoin from an investment perspective.
Instead, Saylor believes that Bitcoin has the potential to compete with the largest ETFs in the world, namely the S&P 500 index ETFs, such as SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE:SPY) and iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (NYSE:IVV).
In terms of market cap, the S&P 500 is leaps and bounds ahead of Bitcoin. It has a market cap of over $40 trillion, well above Bitcoin’s $1.3 trillion. However, Bitcoin’s recent performance, according to Saylor, could be a sign that Bitcoin is ready to compete with some of the largest funds in the world.
The spot Bitcoin ETFs were launched less than two months ago but have already surpassed more than $50 billion in combined total assets, according to Bloomberg senior ETF analyst Eric Balchunas. The ETFs also saw a record amount of inflows during their first 30 days.
