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2024

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MicroStrategy’s executive chairman, Michael Saylor, was 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 <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DevkAbG1mGc&amp;t=1446s" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">suggested</a> in an Oct. 21 interview with financial markets reporter Madison Reidy that Bitcoiners have nothing to lose by transferring their Bitcoin (<a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/bitcoin-price" rel="" target="_self" text="null" title="https://cointelegraph.com/bitcoin-price">BTC</a>) to institutions.
Saylor is seen as a champion for Bitcoin, and his comment appears to be in stark contrast to his previous support for crypto self-custody.&nbsp;
Anybody thinking a state-sanctioned Bitcoin seizure is possible is a “paranoid crypto-anarchist,” Saylor said, when asked whether the United States government might strip Bitcoin holders of their self-custody rights in the way that holding gold was made illegal in 1933.
“It’s a myth and a trope that goes on over and over again,” Saylor said.&nbsp;
<blockquote>
 “There’s just a lot of fear that’s unnecessary.”
</blockquote>
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.”
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 <img alt="Banks, Self Custody, Michael Saylor" src="https://s3.cointelegraph.com/uploads/2024-10/0192b1be-4dcb-72e1-b021-3dec12b773ef" title="">
 <figcaption style="text-align: center;">
 Michael Saylor speaking with Madison Reidy. Source: <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://www.youtube.com/@MarketsWithMadison" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="https://www.youtube.com/@MarketsWithMadison">Markets with Madison</a>
 </figcaption>
</figure>
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,” <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://x.com/Sina_21st/status/1848450657205789161" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">said</a> “Sina” — a founder of Bitcoin custody and security firm 21st Capital.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
 Michael Saylor, the leading voice and influencer on Bitcoin by a mile, says: 💀You don't need to self-custody 💀You should trust government and institutions 💀Government would never confiscate your custodial Bitcoin 💀You're a "paranoid crypto anarachist, and a profit-driven… <a href="https://t.co/mRdgUPgC5n">https://t.co/mRdgUPgC5n</a>— Joel Valenzuela (@TheDesertLynx) <a href="https://twitter.com/TheDesertLynx/status/1848166461619032488?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 21, 2024</a>
</blockquote>
OG Bitcoiner and author of “Bank to the Future,” Simon Dixon,&nbsp;<a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://x.com/SimonDixonTwitt/status/1848388948298481756" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">speculated</a>&nbsp;that Saylor was 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 &amp; central banks,” Dixon said.
John Carvalho, CEO of Bitcoin payments firm Synonym, also <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://x.com/BitcoinErrorLog/status/1848347081129251077" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">criticized</a> Saylor’s change in tune, highlighting that he used to claim “Bitcoin is hope” for everyone.
<blockquote>
 “I am curious what exactly that means if we must discount the ‘paranoid crypto anarchists’ and their ‘tropes’ as salesmen with ulterior motives.”
</blockquote>
Shortly after <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/ftx-collapse-the-crypto-industry-s-lehman-brothers-moment" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">FTX crashed</a> in November 2022, Saylor claimed <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/explained/various-forms-of-bitcoin-custody-explained" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">Bitcoin self-custody</a> prevented powerful <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/cz-and-saylor-urge-for-crypto-self-custody-amid-increasing-uncertainty" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">custodians from corrupting</a> the Bitcoin network:
<blockquote>
 “In systems where there is no self-custody, the custodians accumulate too much power and then they can abuse that power.”
</blockquote>
“If you can’t self-custody your coin, there’s no way to establish a decentralized network,” Saylor added.
Saylor even recommended remembering your 12-word seed phrase and telling people to “f*** themselves” if they come for you.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
 You can tell people to go 'f*ck themselves' if they come for you <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/bitcoin?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#bitcoin</a> - Michael saylor <a href="https://t.co/WMonJImx7K">pic.twitter.com/WMonJImx7K</a>— Arsen @ Relai (@satoshibaggins) <a href="https://twitter.com/satoshibaggins/status/1691847787565248997?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 16, 2023</a>
</blockquote>
Related: <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/tesla-moves-all-765-million-bitcoin-unknown-wallets" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">Tesla moves entire $765M Bitcoin stash to unknown wallets</a>
Still, others were more supportive of Saylor’s take. 
Julian Figueroa, founder and host of “Get Based,” said Saylor’s <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://x.com/kinetic_finance/status/1848392807813394457" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">message</a> was targeted at institutions, not individuals.
<blockquote>
 “Institutions are not and never will be anarchists. Small businesses and plebs can have hardware wallets and sovereignty [but] 200+ employee institutions, pensions or wealth funds will need bitcoin banks.”
</blockquote>
Head analyst at Bitcoin mining firm Blockware Solutions Mitchell Askew <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://x.com/MitchellHODL/status/1848419332935524513" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">added</a> that Saylor was willing to “stomach criticism” to make Bitcoin “less sketchy.”
<figure>
 <img alt="Banks, Self Custody, Michael Saylor" src="https://s3.cointelegraph.com/uploads/2024-10/0192b1bc-b3a2-7be8-a2a2-e7bc6b565ff5" title="">
 <figcaption style="text-align: center;">
 Source: Mitchell Askew
 </figcaption>
</figure>
<a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/michael-saylor-ups-bitcoin-price-forecast-13-million-mega-bullish-keynote-bitcoin-2024" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">Saylor’s MicroStrategy</a> is the largest corporate holder of Bitcoin, with a stack of 252,220 BTC worth almost $17 billion, BitcoinTreasuries <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://bitcointreasuries.net/" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">data</a> shows.
In late June, Saylor estimated Bitcoin would <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/michael-saylor-ups-bitcoin-price-forecast-13-million-mega-bullish-keynote-bitcoin-2024" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">reach $13 million per coin</a> by 2045. 
Magazine: <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/magazine/bitcoin-etf-coinbase-honeypot-hackers-government-trezor-ceo/" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">Bitcoin ETFs make Coinbase a ‘honeypot’ for hackers and governments: Trezor CEO</a>

Bitcoiners slam Saylor for throwing weight behind ‘too big to fail’ banks

Cointelegraph

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