Saylor Wants Bitcoin in Banks and Points to $100 Trillion
Saylor wants U.S. banks to hold Bitcoin for customers and lend against it. He sees looser Basel rules and AI as drivers of broader adoption.
Key Takeaways
- Michael Saylor wants U.S. banks to hold Bitcoin for customers and lend against it.
- He says the digital asset market could grow into a $100 trillion industry.
- Saylor calls current Basel rules a drag and also sees a role for AI in digital money.
Michael Saylor wants U.S. banks to hold Bitcoin for customers and lend against it. According to the Strategy chairman, the digital assets market could grow into a $100 trillion (€87.7 trillion) industry. He ties that to a broader shift in which banks, regulators, and AI systems increasingly need to be able to work with digital value.
Banks and Bitcoin Custody
Saylor laid out his plan in a policy paper after speaking at the Freedom Tech DC summit hosted by the Bitcoin Policy Institute. He wants banks to offer Bitcoin custody, meaning they hold the coin on behalf of customers, and also be able to lend against it under clear rules.
To do that, he says regulators need to draw a sharp line between three activities: holding Bitcoin for a customer, lending against that Bitcoin, and taking positions with the bank's own money. According to Saylor, that distinction is needed to give banks more room without putting everything under the same heavy capital rules.
Basel Rules Remain a Drag
The current international capital rules still get in the way of that approach, Saylor says. Under the Basel framework, the riskiest crypto positions get a risk weight of 1,250%, which means banks have to hold capital against that exposure that can equal its full value. The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision is reviewing those rules again, and updates are expected later this year.
That strict treatment has already pushed banks toward alternatives, such as using third parties for custody. Saylor calls the current approach an example of how heavily Bitcoin is still treated in traditional banking.
Why This Matters for Europe
For European crypto followers, this is more than a U.S. policy debate. If major banks are allowed to offer Bitcoin custody and lending products, it could affect how institutions around the world view crypto, including in markets where rules are already more developed. The European Union and Singapore have already taken more steps on this front, while delays in the U.S. could push innovation elsewhere.
Saylor also connects his vision to AI. He expects AI agents to research, negotiate, and make purchases on behalf of people, which would require money that moves 24 hours a day and at software speed. In his view, Bitcoin fits into that kind of system, although he gives no timeline for growth to $100 trillion (€87.7 trillion).
The debate comes at a time when U.S. politics has actually brought less clarity. On September 15, the Senate voted 49 to 50 against further consideration of the CLARITY Act, a bill meant to set rules for the U.S. crypto market. Saylor sees the next two years as mainly a job for the SEC, the CFTC, the Treasury Department, and the White House.
The discussion inside Strategy has also long centered on how a Bitcoin-driven balance sheet fits alongside the traditional banking model. That makes Saylor's push for bank custody and lending especially relevant to how institutions view Bitcoin.
