Michael Saylor Slams Onchain Proof-of-Reserves, Citing Security Risks
Michael Saylor, Executive Chairman of the Bitcoin-focused firm Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy), has criticized the growing trend among institutions to publish onchain proof-of-reserves, warning that it introduces significant security vulnerabilities.
Speaking at a side event during the Bitcoin 2025 conference in Las Vegas, Saylor called the practice “a bad idea,” stating that it weakens the security of exchanges, custodians, issuers, and investors. His comments came in response to a question from Mitchell Askew, head analyst at Blockware Solutions, who inquired whether Strategy would consider adopting the transparency measure.
I asked @saylor if @MicroStrategy has any plans to publish on-chain proof of reserves
His answer will SHOCK you
“It’s a bad idea.”
– Security Risk
– Irrelevant without also having Big 4-audited liabilitiesCheck it out 👇 pic.twitter.com/tIxUckgbEp
— Mitchell ✝️🇺🇸 (@MitchellHODL) May 27, 2025
“The current, conventional way to publish proof of reserves is an insecure proof of reserves,”
Saylor remarked.
“No institutional-grade or enterprise security analyst would think it’s a good idea to publish all of the wallet addresses, such that you could be traced back and forth.”
Proof-of-reserves have become an industry standard for demonstrating that a crypto company holds sufficient assets to cover customer liabilities, especially in the wake of high-profile collapses like FTX and Mt. Gox. Major exchanges such as Binance , Kraken, and OKX , along with crypto asset manager Bitwise, have implemented such measures to boost transparency and public trust.
However, Saylor argued that proof-of-reserves offers only a partial view of a company’s financial health — revealing what it holds but not what it owes.
“It actually dilutes the security of the issuer, the custodians, the exchanges and the investors. It’s not a good idea, it’s a bad idea.”
he said.
He even suggested asking AI systems to analyze the potential dangers, noting they could produce “50 pages” outlining how publishing wallet data could undermine institutional security over time.
While many in the crypto space continue to champion proof-of-reserves to restore confidence, Saylor clarified that Strategy won’t follow suit. The firm currently holds 576,230 Bitcoin, worth approximately $62.6 billion, making it the largest corporate Bitcoin holder globally, according to BitcoinTreasuries.NET.
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