Mr. Saylor's rephrasing of "Bitcoin's true victory"—the challenging path toward institutional adoption

Strategy founder and chairman Michael Saylor emphasized in an interview on the “What Bitcoin Did” podcast that the fundamental victory of Bitcoin lies not in short-term price fluctuations but in institutional and foundational adoption. His assertion is based on multiple structural changes accelerated by 2025. Progress that is not easy makes its significance all the more profound.

“Behind the seemingly easy success”—Institutional advances in 2025

Saylor points out that 2025 was a historic year of leap forward. To understand the challenging aspects of this progress, we need to start with his own experience. When he purchased Bitcoin in 2020, an insurance company canceled his policy. Despite having hundreds of billions of dollars on his balance sheet, he faced the contradictory situation of being unable to afford a $40 million insurance policy. This issue remained unresolved for four years.

In 2025, this seemingly insurmountable situation was turned around. Insurance coverage was reinstated, and the introduction of fair value accounting enabled profit recognition. Proactive government guidance also resolved the issue of unrealized capital gains tax. These changes are not merely procedural; they are also a rephrasing of the official recognition of Bitcoin as a digital commodity.

Furthermore, major US banks began and planned to start Bitcoin-backed loans, and the Treasury Department issued positive guidelines on banks’ crypto holdings. The CFTC Chairman and SEC Chairman also expressed support, and the CME is advancing the commercialization of derivatives markets. Without these institutional foundations, large-scale corporate adoption would not have been easy.

By the end of 2024, about 30 to 60 companies held Bitcoin on their balance sheets, but by the end of 2025, that number had grown to approximately 200. This rapid increase demonstrates how crucial the development of the institutional environment is.

Short-term price movements are, in other words, “noise”—Saylor emphasizes a long-term perspective

Rephrasing Saylor’s argument, obsessing over short-term price predictions causes one to lose sight of the essence. Despite Bitcoin reaching a new high 95 days ago, there are voices of disappointment about the subsequent price fluctuations. Saylor describes this as “the community’s short-term memory,” noting that the historic changes over the past 10,000 years typically required a decade of dedication.

In other words, if the goal is the commercialization of Bitcoin, evaluating it over 10 weeks or 10 months is meaningless. Looking at a four-year moving average, Bitcoin’s performance shows a very bullish trend. Over the past 90 days, it has been an excellent opportunity for foresighted investors to buy more Bitcoin. This is not an easy judgment but a long-term choice based on structural understanding.

The industry is moving in the right direction. The network is moving in the right direction. This is not a simplistic conclusion but a perspective based on complex fundamental analysis.

Rephrasing Bitcoin-holding companies as “Digital Capital Adoption Firms”

Saylor states that criticizing companies that buy Bitcoin is a misunderstanding of rational management decisions. For example, consider a company losing $10 million annually but holding $100 million worth of Bitcoin on its balance sheet, generating $30 million in capital gains. What is there to criticize in this case? The criticism should shift easily. It should not be about Bitcoin purchases but about improving ongoing losses.

Companies holding Bitcoin are, in other words, akin to factories owning power infrastructure. Bitcoin is not a speculative product but a tool for productivity enhancement. Just as electricity is universal capital powering all machinery, Bitcoin is universal capital in the digital age. There are 400 million companies worldwide. Why is it not easy for all of them to become Bitcoin adopters? According to Saylor’s logic, the answer to this question is clear.

For loss-making companies, holding Bitcoin can improve their balance sheets, and for profitable companies, it can increase earnings. In other words, the act of a company purchasing Bitcoin is not easy speculation but a rational form of capital strategy.

The digital credit market cannot easily saturate—Strategy’s grand vision

Saylor clarifies that Strategy is not interested in banking. The company’s core is clear. The business of Strategy can theoretically expand almost infinitely. If they can capture 10% of the US Treasury bond market through the product STRC (Streck Deferred Digital Credit), it would amount to a $10 trillion market.

Such a potential market size is not easily saturated. Compared to traditional financial markets like the senior credit market, corporate credit market, and derivatives market, the market for Bitcoin-backed credit remains largely unexplored. In other words, the digital credit market pursued by Strategy is not about redistributing existing market share but about creating a new market altogether.

Saylor’s management philosophy is simple. Bitcoin is digital capital, and Strategy is digital credit. This division of labor allows the company to pursue the world’s best digital credit products without losing focus. Building dollar reserves is a strategy to enhance the creditworthiness of companies in the credit market. Since credit investors dislike volatility, they increase their dollar reserves rather than Bitcoin holdings to improve the perceived creditworthiness of their products.

Corporate value should be based on business operations, and that value depends not only on what the company is doing now but also on what it can do in the future. Considering the potential integration of the digital credit market into the global currency system, its growth potential is not easily limited. This is why Saylor explains Strategy’s long-term perspective in this way.