Bitcoin and AI May Restore Human Time, Strike CEO Says

Strike's chief executive, Jack Mallers, said that bitcoin together with artificial intelligence could allow people to reclaim their time for creative endeavors.

Speaking on Bitcoin Magazine's first television program on Monday, Mallers argued that sound money does not steal people's time and effort but instead compensates them properly.

"Money broadly is our time and energy in an abstracted form — it is the market good that represents the effort, the labor," Mallers stated.

"If the money is bad, it’s very destructive to our time and energy: It robs us of our time and energy. You have to work longer and harder to get a house; you have to work longer and harder to get a vacation. You have to work longer and harder to have hours to pursue your artistic interests."

He continued: "And if the money is good, it actually gives you and rewards back time and energy," adding that bitcoin and AI could free people from the "drudgery" of poor money.

Mallers then cited the Wright brothers, who invented the airplane while the United States operated on a gold standard.

His remarks come after bitcoin's strongest period in years. The cryptocurrency climbed roughly 25% in August, its best month of 2026 and the first positive August since 2021, ending the month near $78,000.

The rally followed Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's expansion of long-dated bond buybacks, which pushed yields down and triggered billions in short liquidations.

Since that news, the debasement trade — buying assets such as gold or bitcoin as a hedge against currency depreciation — has resurfaced in headlines.

The U.S. dollar fell after the Treasury buyback announcement and the same week's news that national debt reached $40 trillion.

Discussing the American economy, Mallers stated: "This level of debt is unsustainable, so when people debate, oh well, what if they hike rates? What if they cut rates? It doesn’t matter: it’s all inflationary and it’s all untenable."

Friday's data showed the core consumer price index, which excludes food and energy, rose 0.3% in August from the prior month, topping expectations.

The United States faces an affordability crisis, and the Federal Reserve is broadly expected to raise interest rates this week to fight inflation as oil prices have jumped.