Ross Gerber, CEO of Gerber Kawasaki Wealth and Investment Management, renewed his criticism of Bitcoin by arguing that gold remains easier to use for everyday transactions and that Bitcoin's real-world payments case still relies heavily on fiat card rails rather than direct merchant acceptance. Trader Scott Melker challenged that view, saying crypto-linked Visa and Mastercard cards already let holders spend Bitcoin almost anywhere cards are accepted, though those transactions typically depend on a custodian converting BTC to fiat at checkout instead of merchants taking Bitcoin directly on-chain. The criticism is notable because Gerber Kawasaki said in April 2021 that it partnered with Gemini to offer clients digital asset exposure, but Gerber's tone has turned more skeptical in 2026. Gerber also escalated his attack on Michael Saylor's Strategy Inc. by warning that the company's practice of selling richly valued stock to accumulate more Bitcoin could amplify a market downturn if its leveraged structure comes under pressure. He said Strategy trades at about 1.61 times the value of its Bitcoin holdings, while the company has argued that perpetual preferred stock with no maturity date reduces forced-liquidation risk even in an 80% drawdown. Earlier coverage cited SEC filings showing Strategy held 840,447 BTC as of Aug. 9 after several 2026 sales, but the new report described a latest disclosure showing 629,376 BTC worth more than $72 billion after a 430 BTC purchase for about $51.4 million, leaving a discrepancy in the reported holdings. Gerber also questioned Bitcoin's longer-term mining economics as listed miners such as Riot Platforms and Core Scientific redirected power capacity toward AI and high-performance computing, a shift coverage citing CoinShares said could cut mining revenue to under 20% of total revenue by the end of 2026 for miners with significant AI contracts.