Michael Saylor. Bitcoin maximalist. That’s the label he wears, a badge of honor in today’s digital gold rush. He urges us to “Buy the Future,” with a barrage of motion graphics, including AI-generated dystopian imagery and stylized Bitcoin logos, all across X, formerly known as Twitter. Bitcoin shot up to an all-time high of $83,246 on November 4th, 2025. We understand how easy it is to get swept up in the hype surrounding this incredible achievement! What I’m wondering is if we are being blinded by the prospect of these potential gains, missing the forest for the trees. Maybe we’re just so willing to accept this vision of the future that we’re not demanding that we look under the hood.
Is Bitcoin Really the Future?
Saylor treats Bitcoin as a near-religious mission. He even advised his followers to HODL when the market crashed. Let's connect the dots here. The dot of massive energy consumption. The dot of concentrated wealth. The dot of regulatory uncertainty. Is this truly the future we want to purchase?
Cryptocurrency mining in general, and Bitcoin mining in particular, is an intensive computational process. It sucks up electricity on a scale that dwarfs that of small countries. We’re discussing a digital currency that would greatly worsen the climate crisis. It’s as shortsighted as praising the invention of the combustion engine without acknowledging the resultant smog.
Then there’s the issue of wealth concentration. Bitcoin proponents sell the idea of this fully decentralized currency but that’s really misleading. A tiny number of crypto’s richest investors, known as “whales,” control an extraordinary amount of Bitcoin. These private actors and new players can easily tip the market with just one large trade. That’s hardly the democratization of finance we’re promised when a handful of players still hold all the cards. It’s less like a tech incubator and more like a digital version of Wall Street.
And don’t get me started on the regulatory sword of Damacles looms ominously over Bitcoin. Governments around the world are grappling with how to regulate cryptocurrencies, and the potential for a crackdown is very real. It just takes one wrong move, one broad stroke regulation and the whole house of cards would come crashing down. That's not an investment, that's a gamble.
The Moral Cost of Digital Gold
Look, I get the appeal of Bitcoin. The allure of a new decentralized, censorship-resistant currency is tantalizing. At what cost? We're so focused on the potential for financial gain that we're ignoring the potential for environmental damage, social inequality, and regulatory disaster.
It makes me think of the first years of the Industrial Revolution. Unconstrained creativity, driven by the for-profit motive, led to amazing technological breakthroughs. It also came with pollution, exploitation, and social strife of its own. Are we doomed to repeat history? Have we become so enamored with the dream of progress that we’ll give up all else to chase it?
So Saylor’s AI-generated self-portrait might be the most appropriate metaphor for this whole scenario. It’s an unrealistic, sanitized, perfect-world vision of a very real, messy, chaotic place. It’s a well-orchestrated fake-out that’s meant to sell us a particular vision of the future—and the wrong one at that. Beneath the glamorous exterior is a reality filled with the much messier—and honestly, scarier—truth.
Alternatives: Sustainable Crypto's Rise
The bright side is, it doesn’t have to be this way moving forward. Beyond the cryptocurrencies polarizing the conversation, there are boatloads of other cryptocurrencies and blockchain applications focusing on sustainability, social good and ethical practices. Cryptocurrencies based on Proof-of-Stake models, like Ethereum, for instance, use about 0.1 percent of Bitcoin’s energy.
| Feature | Bitcoin (Proof-of-Work) | Alternative (Proof-of-Stake) |
|---|---|---|
| Energy Consumption | High | Low |
| Environmental Impact | Significant | Minimal |
| Scalability | Limited | Higher |
So let’s take a deep dive into these alternatives! We can’t afford to waste public dollars on financially unsustainable projects, even as we proclaim the need to be environmentally sustainable and socially equitable. We should demand transparency, accountability, and ethical considerations from the cryptocurrency industry, just as we would with any other industry.
This isn't about being anti-Bitcoin. It's about being pro-future. It’s about creating a future that is smart, sustainable, inclusive and just. It's about recognizing that true innovation isn't just about creating new technologies, but about creating a better world.
So, before you blindly "Buy the Future" that Michael Saylor is selling, ask yourself: what kind of future are you really buying? Are you purchasing a future for everyone, or just for a select few? Are you purchasing a green new deal, or a simply awful greenwashing? Are you purchasing an equitable future, or an end that continues the status quo? The choice, ultimately, is yours.
