Key Notes
- Saylor believes publishing reserve data exposes companies to major security threats.
- He cited FTX and Mt.Gox collapses as cautionary examples for the industry.
- Strategy’s $40.6B Bitcoin bet has surged to $63.8B in value, earning $23B in unrealized gains.
Bitcoin BTC $96 611 24h volatility: 2.1% Market cap: $1.92 T Vol. 24h: $29.09 B advocate and Strategy co-founder Michael Saylor has sparked fresh debate in the crypto community after labeling proof-of-reserves (PoR) as a risky practice. During a recent interview, Saylor argued that publishing on-chain reserve data may do more harm than good.
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
Saylor believes there are serious security vulnerabilities tied to PoR disclosures. He suggested that disclosing reserve wallets leads to potential exploitation by bad actors and compromises the safety of issuers, exchanges, custodians, and even retail investors.
Security Risks Over Transparency
As per Strategy co-founder, current methods of publishing proof-of-reserves expose too much information. He explained that publicly disclosing wallet addresses enables malicious tracking of fund movements and increases the attack surface for hackers and fraudsters.
Saylor cited past crypto disasters like FTX and Mt. Gox, explaining that the industry should learn from its mistakes. The 60-year-old argued that the risks extend far beyond what most people realize, especially when it comes to large holders like his company.
Notably, Strategy recently purchased 4,020 more Bitcoins for around $427 million. The firm now holds 580,250 BTC, or about 2.76% of Bitcoin’s total supply.
Strategy has invested around $40.6 billion into its Bitcoin strategy. The current Bitcoin price of $109,500 has pushed the company’s holdings to around $63.8 billion, yielding more than $23 billion in unrealized gains.
Crypto Community Reacts
While the crypto community supports Saylor for his Bitcoin-friendly views, the latest comments have sparked criticism. Crypto expert Toby Cunningham questioned why someone so deeply tied to the cryptocurrency industry would reject trustless verification mechanisms.
So he doesn’t advocate self custody and will not promote public audits or trustlessness. The guy has come full circle right back to the system Bitcoin was created to destroy.
— Toby Cunningham (@sircryptotips) May 27, 2025
“Am I wrong or at this point it’s basically their holdings come down to a “trust me bro” situation?,” Lark Funding owner Matt commented .
Even xAI’s tool Grok weighed in, noting that while Saylor raises valid security concerns, modern PoR methods like Merkle tree-based audits aim to address those very issues. The broader industry still leans toward making PoR a standard practice.
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