Bitcoin Can Send 'Any Amount' Of Money Anywhere On Earth In Minutes On A Bank Holiday, Says Michael Saylor - Critics Aren't Buying It
Strategy Inc. (NASDAQ:MSTR) Chair Michael Saylor touted on Monday Bitcoin’s ability to enable fast and cheap global transfers even on bank holidays like Presidents’ Day.
Saylor Champions Bitcoin’S 24/7 Operation
Saylor highlighted Bitcoin’s fee estimator on X, with a fee rate of 1 satoshi per virtual byte for instant settlements during periods of low congestion. One satoshi is the smallest unit of Bitcoin, equal to 0.00000001 BTC. At the time of writing, its value was about $0.00068.
Lightning transactions also include a variable fee component applied to the payment amount. In the given scenario, it was shown to be 0.0003%.
The screenshot posted by Saylor didn’t show the total transaction amount, but the final transaction fee, including the base fee highlighted earlier, came to $0.44.
“On a bank holiday, Bitcoin can send any amount of money anywhere on earth in minutes,” Saylor said.
On a bank holiday, Bitcoin can send any amount of money anywhere on earth in minutes — for $0.44.
— Michael Saylor February 16, 2026
Bitcoin’s Scalability Not In Question?
The Bitcoin bull noted that scalability and bandwidth concerns emerged during the 2015-17 blocksize wars, but the network has since overcome them.
“A reminder that markets and innovation often resolve challenges more effectively than urgency or intervention,” Saylor said.
The Counter Arguments
Sending money on a holiday is generally not possible for immediate settlement, as banks are closed, causing delays until the next business day.
However, X users like Udi Wertheimer rebutted Saylor’s points. Wertheimer argued that Bitcoin’s low fees result from weak transaction demand, which is at historic lows, and not from any real “innovation.”
it's not innovation michael, it's lack of demand
— Udi Wertheimer February 16, 2026
mempool transactions are at historic lows
the total transaction fees paid in the last block were $800
that's around $100,000 of revenue per day for the entire global network, less than a local grocery store in a small town
Another user, AB, echoed the same observation.
Fees remain low because it's not used. Nothing to do with innovation. Fast forward one or two halvings and see how quickly miners will drop off as 'subsidy + fees' are not enough.
— AG February 17, 2026
The number of transactions added to the Bitcoin mempool per second has indeed fallen sharply in the last six months, according to data from Blockchain.com.
Price Action: At the time of writing, BTC was exchanging hands at $68,961.51, up 0.91% in the last 24 hours.
Photo Courtesy: Ryvius on Shutterstock.com
Disclaimer: The content of this article solely reflects the author's opinion and does not represent the platform in any capacity. This article is not intended to serve as a reference for making investment decisions.
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