MicroStrategy’s executive chairman, Michael Saylor, has been slammed over his latest comments recommending Bitcoin custodianship through “too big to fail” financial institutions rather than using self-custody — something he once championed.
Saylor controversially
suggested
Bitcoiners have nothing to lose by transferring their Bitcoin (
BTC
) to institutions in an Oct. 21 interview with financial markets reporter Madison Reidy.
Saylor is seen as a champion for Bitcoin, and his comment appears to be a stark contrast to his previous support for crypto self-custody.
Anybody thinking a state-sanctioned Bitcoin seizure is possible is a “paranoid crypto-anarchist,” added Saylor when asked whether the United States government would strip Bitcoin holders of their self-custody rights like how holding gold was made illegal in 1933.
“It’s a myth and a trope that goes on over and over again,” Saylor said.
Instead of relying on hardware wallets, Saylor said it would be better to rely on “too big to fail” banks that are “engineered to be custodians of financial assets.”
Michael Saylor speaking with Madison Reidy. Source:
Markets with Madison
His apparent U-turn on self-custody wasn’t received well by many Bitcoiners.
“Saylor is on a mission to relegate Bitcoin into an investment petrock and halt its usage as a currency,”
said
“Sina” — a founder of Bitcoin custody and security firm 21st Capital.
OG Bitcoiner and author of “Bank to the Future,” Simon Dixon, meanwhile,
speculated
Saylor is undermining the importance of self-custody because it wouldn’t benefit MicroStrategy’s long-term plan to turn into a Bitcoin bank and offer collateralized loans.
“Bitcoin anarchists: keep helping people gain freedom from banks, governments & central banks,” Dixon said.
John Carvalho, CEO of Bitcoin payments firm Synonym, also
criticized
Saylor’s change in tune, highlighting that he used to claim “Bitcoin is hope” for everyone.
Shortly after
FTX crashed
in November 2022, Saylor claimed
Bitcoin self-custody
prevents powerful
custodians from corrupting
the Bitcoin network:
“If you can’t self-custody your coin, there’s no way to establish a decentralized network,” Saylor added.
Saylor even once recommended people to remember their 12-word seed phrase and tell people to “f*** themselves” if they come for you.
Related:
Tesla moves entire $765M Bitcoin stash to unknown wallets
Others were more supportive of Saylor’s take.
Julian Figueroa, founder and host of “Get Based,” believes Saylor’s
message
was targeted at institutions, not individuals.
Head analyst at Bitcoin mining firm Blockware Solutions Mitchell Askew
added
that Saylor was willing to “stomach criticism” to make Bitcoin “less sketchy.”
Source: Mitchell Askew
Saylor’s MicroStrategy
is the largest corporate holder of Bitcoin, with a stack of 252,220 BTC worth nearly $17 billion, Bitcoin Treasuries
data
shows.
In late June, Saylor estimated Bitcoin would
reach $13 million per coin
by 2045.
Magazine:
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Bitcoin Community Criticizes Saylor for Supporting Too Big to Fail Banks