Saylor backs token fundraising for 10 million new firms
Strategy's Michael Saylor wants digital tokens to make raising capital cheaper for new companies as AI reshapes how businesses are built, while the SEC weighs its own crypto offering exemptions.
Key points
- Saylor set out the proposal in a Sept. 26 essay on financing new companies, according to Bitcoin.com News.
- He is executive chairman of Strategy Inc. (Nasdaq: MSTR), known for its bitcoin treasury.
- He wants simpler token issuance rules with risk-based disclosures and antifraud protections.
- The SEC has separately proposed crypto offering exemptions of up to $5 million over four years and up to $75 million per 12-month period.
- Saylor says digital tokens, currency, capital and securities serve different economic functions and should be treated differently.
Michael Saylor wants digital tokens to help 10 million new companies raise capital, arguing that artificial intelligence is changing how businesses are built and financed. The executive chairman of Strategy Inc. (Nasdaq: MSTR), a company known for its bitcoin treasury, made the case in a Sept. 26 essay on financing new companies, Bitcoin.com News reports. The 10 million figure is his policy ambition rather than a forecast of companies already seeking funding.
Saylor expects AI to automate work and make established products obsolete, which he says will increase the need for new businesses and jobs. In his view, someone who can build a product with AI should also have a practical way to finance the company that sells it. Faster product development, he argues, will carry less economic value if fundraising stays slow and expensive.
His proposal centres on digital tokens that a company could issue to raise money under rules tailored to the offering. Saylor calls for clear issuance requirements, disclosures proportionate to the risks, and ways for entrepreneurs to reach prospective investors. He says the aim is to cut legal costs without giving up ownership protections or accountability for fraud.
Saylor sets a 10 million goal
Saylor places fundraising within a broader set of rights for individuals and companies: creating, issuing, holding, transferring and using digital assets. The first two are central to his company formation argument, since entrepreneurs would need room both to develop an asset or financial instrument and to bring it to market. He also says digital tokens, digital currency, digital capital and digital securities perform different economic functions, and that policy should recognise those differences.
The cost of reaching investors is part of the argument. Saylor contends that financing a small business should be possible without extensive legal resources, and that lower issuance costs could let more founders seek funding. Even so, Bitcoin.com News notes that his 10 million company goal would still depend on investor demand, workable products and rules that protect participants.
The Securities and Exchange Commission has separately proposed crypto offering exemptions. One would allow eligible offerings of up to $5 million over four years, and another up to $75 million in each 12-month period. Both remain proposals, and issuers would face disclosure conditions and antifraud rules. Saylor did not present those figures as part of his own target.
Token issuance and investor rights
The SEC's capital formation debate forms the regulatory backdrop to Saylor's request. He wants the agency to make issuance more accessible while Congress extends digital asset rights where legislation is needed. For founders, the practical question is whether a lawful offering can reach investors at a cost that makes sense for a young company.