During a recent podcast interview, MicroStrategy’s Michael Saylor expressed the opinion that large corporations purchasing and then proceeding to centralize Bitcoin (BTC) should not be a cause for concern.
While speaking to Natalie Brunell on the Coin Stories podcast, released on Aug. 7, Saylor emphasized the inevitability of third-party and corporate participation growing in the Bitcoin space.
However, he suggested that while Bitcoin enthusiasts may desire total self-control over their Bitcoin – aka self-sovereignty – it might not be the only answer, as people will be using Bitcoin for diverse purposes.
“We need to be prepared for Bitcoin to infuse everything” Saylor stated, explaining that as Bitcoin becomes more integrated into society, it will have many use cases and there will not be a one-size-fits-all model.
“There are different type of wrappers. Some people will always be self-custody, some will be multi-sig, some will need a layer 3 custodian. There will be a need for political or utility or functionality purposes.”
Saylor outlined three main reasons underpinning the need for custodians – technical, political, and natural reasons.
From a political standpoint, relying on a third party might be the only course of action.
“The mayor of New York is still the mayor of New York. Unless you get rid of New York City, California, or Iceland the country, political reasons will mean the need for custodians.”
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On a technical note, there will be people that will want to transact crypto with their mobile phones, so trusting layer 3 third parties, such as Bank of America and Apple is going to be unavoidable.
“Bitcoin is going to be a base layer. There is going to be layer 2’s like lightning to make things fast. Then there is going to be layer 3’s like Bank of America and Apple. Custodial layer 3 is going to exist to provide functionality.”
As for natural reasons, Saylor suggested the possibility that it is safer for certain people to entrust their assets with others.
He gave the example of an 85-year-old grappling with Alzheimer’s, or the desire to secure holdings for a yet-to-be-born grandchild.
“I didn’t complain that my mother and father had the car keys when I was twelve years old, and I didn’t get the car key” Saylor stated.
Saylor stated that the optimal blend of Bitcoin integrations will be determined by the market.
“We shouldn’t be afraid of all the different ways people integrate, wrap, embed or execute with bitcoin, there is no one right answer, the marketplace will determine the right mix of integrations of bitcoin.”
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