Jack Dorsey Jack Dorsey
Jack Dorsey speaks at the "Tech and Freedom" event in Italy. IBTimes US

KEY POINTS

  • Dorsey said Bitcoin eliminates the "permission" consumers need from institutions to use their own money
  • He noted that BTC prices will continue to go up and will not necessarily "normalize" due to its scarce nature
  • His company, Block, announced in May a monthly Bitcoin investment strategy

Bitcoin has been called many things by some of the cryptocurrency industry's most prominent advocates: new money, the future of money, and more. For Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey, the world's largest digital asset by market value can be a replacement for the U.S. dollar, possibly by 2040.

During an event in Italy called "Tech and Freedom" hosted by music producer Rick Rubin, Dorsey, the former CEO of Twitter (now X) acknowledged that it will take some time for $BTC to actually reach a point where it can directly rival the U.S. dollar. On the other hand, he believes the digital coin can.

Wearing a Satoshi Nakamoto shirt, Dorsey first discussed how Bitcoin came about and what's been going on behind the scenes – how the digital currency is mined and how the BTC blockchain is being managed to make the coin "resilient" and "usable" by consumers seeking freedom from what he says is constant "permission" needed in the financial realm.

The tech magnate was asked whether he has an idea about when $BTC prices will reach a "normal" stage, to which Dorsey responded that "anyone who says he knows the answer is lying." He went on to encourage the attendee to study the digital coin's pricing trend over the years then make a decision regarding how long he should hold on to the asset. He noted that he believes Bitcoin won't necessarily "normalize" and will only go up due to its scarcity.

On the potential of $BTC to rival the U.S. dollar, Dorsey said "it's going to take some time – it's not 10 years, it might be 15 – but little by little people see the value of this system and why it's so powerful and why it could potentially be a complement or replace the U.S. dollar which rules everything and is currently being challenged by the Chinese yuan."

Dorsey further noted that Bitcoin is the only cryptocurrency he believes doesn't have the many issues other digital assets have – including the possibility to be called in by regulators or law enforcement over potential activity associated with fraud or scams.

Early in May, Dorsey's fintech firm Block announced it has adopted a $BTC strategy following the company's good Q1 2024 earnings result. Dorsey said Block will start investing 10% of its gross profit from $BTC products into Bitcoin purchases as the company believes the digital currency is "an investment in a future where economic empowerment is the norm."