Saylor Blames AI Spending and Rising Yields for Bitcoin's Struggles Amid Trade Policy Uncertainty
Key Summary
Strategy Executive Chairman Michael Saylor blames trade policy, rising yields, and AI spending for Bitcoin's weakness, despite a recent bounce off a key moving average, and expects bank custody to build credit networks over the next 12-24 months
Precedent & Market Context
Latvia plans a one-time 10% crypto tax declaration window in 2027, aligning with the EU's DAC8 directive, and Saylor Teases More Bitcoin Purchases to Expand Strategy's 848,250 BTC Hoard. Trump names Jay Clayton AI czar to lead new Super Intelligence Force, but a controversy surrounds the leadership of the newly created group.
Main Event
Saylor blames restrictive trade, foreign and monetary policy over the past year, and repeated trade war declarations against Canada for Bitcoin's weakness. He also cites rising yields and AI spending as factors, with the AI buildout being a roughly $1 trillion draw on investor money. Bitcoin trades near $82,400, according to BeInCrypto data.
Analysis & Market Impact
Saylor points to Bitcoin's classification as pure capital, which makes it more vulnerable to risk-off shocks. He expects bank custody to build credit networks over the next 12-24 months, with each $10 billion of credit equaling roughly one year of supply. Strategy, which holds about 4% of all Bitcoin that will ever exist, could benefit from such demand.
Implications & Outlook
Not everyone shares Saylor's optimism. Mike McGlone, a senior commodity strategist at Bloomberg Intelligence, sees more downside, while Ki Young Ju argues that spot exchange-traded funds have absorbed $58 billion and on-chain cost basis points are near $30,000. The test is whether bank credit can outpace macro pressure, which could shape how institutions treat Bitcoin.