Michael Saylor - founder of MicroStrategy (now Strategy) - recently stirred the Bitcoin community after a controversial statement at the Bitcoin 2025 conference in Las Vegas: "Audit is a terrible idea."



Rejecting "Proof-of-Reserves", Saylor sparks backlash

Saylor's statement opposing proof-of-reserves - a transparent method that helps cryptocurrency companies prove they actually hold the assets they claim by publicly disclosing wallet addresses.


Saylor explains:



"If you disclose your wallet, it will become a target for hackers, hostile governments, or any saboteurs."



He joked that if you asked AI about the security risks of disclosing wallet addresses, "it would write a 50-page long book."



Accused of "turning its back" on Bitcoin's core principles

Immediately after the statement, many figures in the crypto community voiced their criticism.




Toby Cunningham, a crypto analyst, stated on X (Twitter):



"He does not support self-custody of assets, does not want public audits, and is reverting to the old system - the very system that Bitcoin was created to replace."





Josh Mandell, a Wall Street trader, also rebuts:



"He sidesteps the simple question: What exactly is unsafe about on-chain tracking?"





Refusing asset transparency is seen as contrary to the spirit of decentralization and transparency - the foundational principles that Bitcoin has aimed for since its inception.



MicroStrategy (Strategy) holds over 576,000$BTC but lacks transparency?

Saylor's strategy is under scrutiny as Strategy currently owns over 576,000 BTC, valued at approximately $63 billion, equivalent to nearly 3% of the total global Bitcoin supply.


The company's heavy investment in Bitcoin while refusing to conduct public audits raises concerns, especially when the crypto market has witnessed many collapses due to lack of transparency:




FTX collapsed in 2022 when it was revealed they did not hold enough user assets.




Celsius also went bankrupt due to liquidity crises and loss of trust.




Since then, proof-of-reserves has been seen as an essential measure to prevent a repeat of such disasters and has been adopted by many organizations.



While#Saylor refuses, many organizations have done the opposite

At the end of January, Bitwise - the sixth largest Bitcoin ETF issuer with $4.2 billion in assets - publicly disclosed their Bitcoin wallet address. This is the first organization of its kind to adopt on-chain transparency.


The contrast between Bitwise's approach and Saylor's statements raises further questions about the true motives behind Strategy's refusal of transparency.


Some even speculate that Changpeng Zhao (former CEO of Binance) was alluding to Saylor in a recent cryptic post on X, although he did not name him directly.




Risk warning: While investing in Bitcoin can offer significant profit potential, the crypto market is highly volatile and not comprehensively regulated. Lack of asset transparency can create hidden risks, especially when trust is a key factor. Investors need to be cautious and conduct thorough research before making decisions. #anhbacong