Prominent wealth manager and top Tesla investor Ross Gerber has accused Strategy founder Michael Saylor of single-handedly “destroying” Bitcoin through reckless leverage and market manipulation.
The CEO of Gerber Kawasaki Wealth and Investment Management was reacting to an AI-generated video posted by Saylor, titled “The Right to Bear Arms,” which features the eccentric executive in medieval armor alongside the Strategy CEO roasting an orange over a campfire before fighting bears.
However, some questioned what Gerber meant by saying that Saylor had built Bitcoin, considering that he had nothing to do with the cryptocurrency’s earliest days (he was actually a critic).
“Rug pull” accusations
Gerber’s frustration with Saylor has been brewing for months.
In early June, Gerber explicitly accused the corporate Bitcoin hoarder of tanking the market and betraying retail investors.
“Saylor says he’ll never sell bitcoin,” Gerber stated on X. “Then rug pulls the market. It goes lower. Creating the negative cycle of liquidation of all the speculators.”
Gerber placed the blame for the cryptocurrency’s recent price volatility squarely on corporate whales, adding, “All because the big players are so greedy they can’t seem to steal enough when times are good.”
As Bitcoin’s price action continued to struggle into late June, Gerber openly mocked Strategy’s long-term viability. “The Strategy is to sell low in desperation?” he questioned. “Is Saylors silly Bitcoin gig finally up ?”
“No value creation”
The core of Gerber’s bearish thesis on Strategy (trading under the ticker $MSTR) revolves around the company’s fundamental business model, which he views as a dangerous and hollow financial engineering experiment.
According to the Tesla investor, Strategy’s recursive strategy of issuing debt to buy more Bitcoin is structurally flawed. “There is no value creation by just buying bitcoin,” Gerber responded. “So now it’s a negative as they borrow to buy….”
The ETF alternative
Gerber advocates for a much more traditional, regulated approach to wealth management and tax efficiency.
In May, Gerber highlighted his preferred method for managing digital asset exposure and shielding investors from taxes, indirectly criticizing Saylor’s corporate treasury strategy. “The best capital gain avoidance strategy is having an active etf,” Gerber explained. “One can defer capital gains forever through the mechanisms within ETFs. Thats why I have one.”
