Ethereum Michael Saylor Says No to Bitcoin: “I’d Rather Have an iPhone Than a Landline”

Andrew Keys, the co-founder and chairman of the Ether Machine, says no to Bitcoin, suggesting that Ethereum is a better play. The staunch Ethereum believer with the temerity of Strategy’s executive chairman, Michael Saylor, is making headlines. Specifically, Keys emphasized Ethereum’s superiority on CNBC’s Squawk show on Monday, referring to Bitcoin as a “landline.” “I’d rather have an iPhone than a landline,” Keys said when host Andrew Ross Sorkin asked if he owned any Bitcoin. The Ether Machine’s chairman insisted he is an “Ethereum guy” to the core, as he owns no Bitcoin. This sets him on an exclusive list of crypto enthusiasts who believe in Ethereum’s prospects without having a soft spot for the crypto leader. Ethereum’s Utility in Focus Meanwhile, Keys believes that Ethereum will become a more mainstream asset in the near term, a reason for his big bet. One of the catalysts for this projection is the recently approved GENIUS Act. He stated that Ethereum is the largest beneficiary of the GENIUS Act, citing its large share of the stablecoin market as the reason behind his assertion. The Ether proponent noted that a majority of stablecoins are deployed atop the smart contract-infused network, making it a major medium for institutional settlements. Note that over 50% of stablecoins in circulation are on the Ethereum network, and if the sector were to grow to the trillions of dollars predicted, the blockchain would benefit immensely. Keys compared this to Google’s 90% dominance as a search engine, in contrast to the traction for Yahoo and Bing. Furthermore, the Ether Machine chairman claimed that Ethereum is the only blockchain that can house the decentralized global economy, highlighting its robustness as a major attraction. According to him, the network will be the go-to for institutional players either pursuing stablecoin utility or real-world asset tokenization. Interestingly, Tom Lee, the co-founder of FundStrats, recently shared a similar sentiment, predicting that Ether will surge to $15,000 by the end of the year, driven by this bullish catalyst. However, unlike Keys, Lee maintained he is an adamant Bitcoin fan. The Ether Machine’s Ethereum Venture Meanwhile, the Ether Machine has become the latest Ethereum treasury firm, intending to build the largest institution-grade investment vehicle offering exposure to Ethereum. It resumed trading on Nasdaq today with the ticker ETHM through a merger with SPAC firm Dynamix Corporation. Keys committed $645 million from his purse in an anchor investment in the Ether Machine and aims to build on it. Meanwhile, the firm seeks to raise $1.5 billion to fund its treasury and has received support from 10T Holdings, Pantera Capital, Electric Capital, and other notable investors. It would now compete with firms like SharpLink , Bitmine, and Bit Digital for investors looking to indirectly gain exposure to Ethereum, the second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap.