Strategy’s Michael Saylor proposes bill of digital rights for future economy

Michael Saylor thinks the future of American capitalism fits on a single page. At the Bitcoin Policy Institute’s Freedom Tech DC summit, Strategy’s executive chairman laid out a framework he’s calling a “bill of digital rights,” built around five core principles: the rights to create, issue, custody, transfer, and use digital assets.

His stated ambition is to “enable 10 million new companies to raise capital” through digital tokens, a goal that sounds audacious until you consider the math he’s working from.

The access gap Saylor wants to close

Out of roughly 40 million businesses in the United States, only about 400 can effectively access public capital markets. That’s a hit rate of 0.001%.

Saylor’s argument is that digital tokens could serve as the on-ramp traditional IPOs never provided. Instead of navigating the expensive, attorney-heavy process of going public, smaller companies could issue tokens to raise capital directly from investors.

Five rights, 630 pages of contrast

Saylor drew a pointed comparison between his streamlined framework and the CLARITY bill currently making its way through regulatory discussions. The CLARITY legislation runs approximately 630 pages, and in Saylor’s view, those pages are weighted heavily toward restrictions rather than empowerment.

His counter-proposal is deliberately minimal. Five rights. Create digital assets. Issue them. Custody them yourself. Transfer them freely. Use them in commerce.

He specifically tied the digital rights framework to AI, arguing that the combination of artificial intelligence and frictionless capital formation could create a new class of lean, fast-moving enterprises.

The banking problem

Beyond token issuance, Saylor’s proposal takes direct aim at the banking sector’s relationship with Bitcoin. He advocated for allowing banks to custody Bitcoin and lend against it, activities that are currently hampered by regulatory friction.

The specific obstacle he flagged is the Basel 1,250% risk weighting applied to crypto assets. In practical terms, that risk weighting means banks have to hold an enormous amount of capital against any Bitcoin on their balance sheet, effectively making custody and lending uneconomical for traditional financial institutions.

Saylor also emphasized the importance of self-custody rights, ensuring that individuals retain the ability to hold their own digital assets without mandatory reliance on third-party custodians.

Stablecoins and competitive yields

The proposal extends to stablecoins as well. Saylor stressed the potential for competitive yields on digital assets, a topic that has become increasingly relevant as stablecoin legislation advances in Congress.

Disclosure: This article was edited by John Chen. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.