Michael Saylor Advocates for Bitcoin Self-Custody Amid Criticism

Michael Saylor, the founder of MicroStrategy, has expressed support for non-custodial storage of cryptocurrencies. This is presumably in response to criticism from the community following a recent interview.

I support self-custody for those willing & able, the right to self-custody for all, and freedom to choose the form of custody & custodian for individuals & institutions globally. #Bitcoin benefits from all forms of investment by all types of entities, and should welcome everyone.

— Michael Saylor⚡️ (@saylor) October 23, 2024

During a podcast with Madison Raidy, the entrepreneur recommended storing bitcoins in major banks. He described the possibility of state-sanctioned confiscation of digital gold from individuals as a “myth” and characterized those who disagree as “paranoid crypto-anarchists and scammers driven by greed.” Saylor urged trust in governments and credit institutions.

This discussion arose in the context of institutional adoption of cryptocurrency.

Saylor’s recommendations, which contradicted his previous statements, sparked a negative reaction within the community.

Chris Dixon, founder of the investment platform Bnk To The Future, linked the “shift” in his opinion to plans to transform MicroStrategy into a bitcoin bank with a capitalization of $1 trillion.

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin called Saylor’s statements “utter madness” and support for a regulatory “takeover” of the crypto industry.

Television host and crypto investor Max Keiser also commented on the statements of the MicroStrategy founder:

“The recent comments attacking self-custody demonstrate a regressive tendency to favor the legacy, centralized banking crooks that Bitcoin fixes.”

This Saylor post from March, 2022 show’s an understanding of Bitcoin’s value proposition.

The recent comments attacking self-custody demonstrate a regressive tendency to favor the legacy, centralized banking crooks that Bitcoin fixes. https://t.co/nWHvk4AyP6 pic.twitter.com/xrsoPB1arM

— Max Keiser (@maxkeiser) October 23, 2024

“I support self-custody for those willing and able, the right to choose custodians and services, both for individuals and institutions worldwide. Bitcoin benefits from all forms of investment and welcomes everyone,” Saylor clarified his position in a tweet.

Back in the podcast, the former CEO of MicroStrategy reiterated his forecast that the price of the first cryptocurrency could rise to $13 million by 2045.