How Michael Saylor’s Strategy became the largest Bitcoin holder

The Michael Saylor Bitcoin strategy, explained

Saylor’s reasoning was driven by a heavy interest astir the aboriginal of fiat currency. 

When Michael Saylor, past CEO of Strategy, announced successful August 2020 that his concern quality steadfast was adopting Bitcoin (BTC) arsenic its superior treasury reserve asset, galore saw it arsenic a extremist (even reckless) decision.

Fast guardant to June 2025, and Saylor’s determination has not lone secured Strategy’s spot arsenic 1 of the largest firm holders of Bitcoin, it’s besides changed however companies deliberation astir cash, worth and semipermanent fiscal strategy. 

No doubt, his attack has helped spark a broader question of organization Bitcoin buying and pushed integer assets deeper into firm finance

With governments printing wealth astatine grounds levels during the COVID-19 pandemic, ostentation was climbing fast. Saylor believed the dollar (and different large currencies) was losing value. He saw Bitcoin arsenic the champion imaginable hedge: a digital, fixed-supply plus that could clasp purchasing powerfulness implicit time.

This idea, present wide known arsenic the Michael Saylor Bitcoin strategy, was astir protecting Strategy’s treasury. Saylor called Bitcoin “digital gold,” and helium believed it offered amended semipermanent worth than holding dollars oregon bonds.

So successful August 2020, Strategy bought 21,454 BTC for $250 million. 

Over the adjacent fewer years, Saylor reshaped Strategy into a institution with a dual identity: a tech steadfast and a Bitcoin firm treasury vehicle.

How Strategy funds its Bitcoin acquisition

Saylor’s program was to support buying Bitcoin aggressively and astatine scale. To bash that, Strategy utilized a premix of fiscal tools: convertible elder notes, secured loans and equity sales. This fto them rise billions of dollars without selling disconnected existing assets.

This created what galore present telephone a Bitcoin accumulation strategy oregon “Bitcoin flywheel”:

• Raise funds: Strategy issued low-interest indebtedness oregon sold banal to rise capital.
• Buy Bitcoin: The wealth raised was utilized to bargain ample amounts of Bitcoin.
• Market boost: As Bitcoin’s terms rose, Strategy’s stock, MSTR, besides surged. Investors saw the institution arsenic a mode to get vulnerability to Bitcoin.
• Reinvest: With the banal terms rising, Strategy could rise adjacent much money, rhythm it backmost into much BTC purchases, and repetition the process.

This fiscal exemplary allowed the institution to standard up its Bitcoin holdings rapidly and efficiently. It besides positioned Saylor arsenic 1 of the boldest voices successful firm finance.

By June 2025, Strategy had acquired 582,000 BTC astatine an mean terms of astir $70,086 per Bitcoin. That adds up to a full concern of astir $40.79 billion.

While Strategy isn’t the biggest wide Bitcoin holder (that would beryllium Satoshi Nakamoto, ample crypto exchanges oregon Bitcoin ETFs similar BlackRock’s IBIT), it is by acold the largest publically traded institution holding Bitcoin straight connected its equilibrium sheet. 

Did you know? Blockchain researchers, utilizing precocious clustering techniques similar the Patoshi Pattern, person traced astir 22,000 addresses that apt beryllium to Satoshi Nakamoto. Combined, they clasp an estimated 1.096 cardinal BTC (about 5% of the full Bitcoin supply), valued contiguous astatine implicit $106 billion.

Why Strategy’s Bitcoin attack is some bold and risky

From a show perspective, Saylor’s Bitcoin concern doctrine has delivered monolithic results. Since that archetypal Bitcoin purchase, Strategy’s banal has surged — astatine 1 constituent gaining much than 2,500%. That maturation outpaced some Bitcoin itself and astir each other large asset.

As of June 2025, the company’s marketplace headdress is astir $106 billion. Its Bitcoin holdings are worthy astir $62.6 billion. That 70% premium is simply a motion of however overmuch assurance investors person successful Saylor’s BTC strategy and the company’s relation arsenic a Bitcoin holding company.

But this benignant of assertive attack comes with risk.

The biggest information is Bitcoin’s terms volatility. A crisp driblet successful the marketplace could dramatically shrink the worth of Strategy’s assets. Also, due to the fact that the institution utilized indebtedness to bargain Bitcoin, a clang could marque it harder to conscionable indebtedness obligations.

Despite that, the institution has held steadfast successful its firm Bitcoin strategy. So far, semipermanent terms maturation has helped offset those risks. But Strategy inactive has billions successful indebtedness coming due, and if Bitcoin falters, they’ll request to trust connected caller financing — oregon profits from their archetypal bundle concern — to enactment afloat.

Not everyone is connected committee with Saylor’s plan. Critics similar short-seller Jim Chanos have called it “financial gibberish,” informing that mixing a tech concern with a speculative plus is simply a unsafe blend. 

Others worry astir the premium astatine which MSTR trades compared to its existent BTC holdings. If that premium collapses, the banal could instrumentality a large hit.

Still, Saylor remains unshaken. He’s argued that Strategy is creating a much efficient, modern mentation of firm finance. Instead of leaving currency to suffer value, he’s fixed investors direct, regulated entree to Bitcoin, without the hassle of private keys oregon self-custody. His semipermanent imaginativeness hasn’t changed.

Milestones connected the Bitcoin firm treasury travel

Strategy’s Bitcoin travel is filled with bold moves and large financing milestones that bespeak Michael Saylor’s Bitcoin strategy successful action:

• August 2020: The institution kicks things disconnected with the acquisition of 21,454 BTC for $250 million, its archetypal measurement toward becoming a Bitcoin firm treasury leader.
• December 2020: Strategy raises $650 cardinal done its archetypal convertible notes offering to bargain much Bitcoin.
• February 2021: A caller circular of convertible notes is followed by a nationalist banal offering, again with the extremity of acquiring BTC.
• 2022-2023: Even during the crypto carnivore market, Strategy continues buying, showing the satellite that Saylor’s committedness isn’t conscionable talk.
• Early 2025: Two large deals hap back-to-back: a $2-billion convertible notes circular successful February followed by a $2.1-billion preferred banal merchantability successful March. Both are utilized to money much Bitcoin purchases astatine scale.

These moments item a Bitcoin accumulation strategy that has helped Strategy go the largest publically traded Bitcoin holder successful the world. 

Did you know? Michael Saylor resigned arsenic MicroStrategy’s CEO connected Aug. 8, 2022, close successful the midst of a large crypto carnivore market. The institution had conscionable reported a $918-million impairment connected its Bitcoin holdings, and Bitcoin had fallen beneath $20,000. Saylor moved into the relation of enforcement president to absorption connected the company’s Bitcoin acquisition strategy portion handing CEO duties to Phong Le.

The aboriginal of organization Bitcoin buying

Michael Saylor’s crypto concern thesis has changed however immoderate investors, executives and adjacent regulators presumption Bitcoin successful the broader fiscal system. Looking toward the remainder of 2025 and beyond, his strategy continues to predominate the conversation.

1. Bitcoin gets firm credibility

By making specified a nationalist commitment, Saylor helped legitimize Bitcoin arsenic a existent asset for firm treasuries. 

His bold positioning encouraged different companies to deliberation earnestly astir allocating to BTC, adjacent if astatine a overmuch smaller scale. The thought that Bitcoin belongs connected a institution equilibrium expanse is present being discussed successful boardrooms astir the world.

2. A caller exemplary for treasury management

The “Strategy model” has created a blueprint for businesses looking to hedge against ostentation and diversify with integer assets. 

Most companies won’t travel Saylor’s high-risk approach, but his model has pushed firm concern successful a caller direction. 

More firms are exploring Bitcoin allocation strategies arsenic portion of a longer-term hedge, peculiarly those looking beyond conscionable holding cash.

3. TradFi and crypto are converging

The occurrence of Bitcoin spot ETFs has made it easier for accepted investors and institutions to get exposure. Tools similar BlackRock’s IBIT and caller Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) guidelines allowing companies to study crypto astatine just marketplace worth person made integer assets much accessible than ever. 

This convergence betwixt accepted concern and crypto is precisely what Saylor has been betting connected and helping drive.

4. Michael Saylor’s vision: Bitcoin to $1 million

Saylor inactive predicts Bitcoin hitting $1 cardinal implicit time, and he’s publically said that the days of heavy carnivore markets whitethorn beryllium down us. In his view, we’re entering a integer golden rush, and Strategy’s BTC holdings are the company’s involvement successful that caller frontier.

Also, portion immoderate of Big Tech’s giants (like Apple oregon Google) person stayed cautious astir adding Bitcoin to their equilibrium sheets, the broader inclination is clear. Surveys show rising integer plus adoption among corporations and funds. Saylor’s power is everywhere.

Whether you hold with him oregon not, Michael Saylor’s Bitcoin moves person helped specify a caller epoch — one wherever companies physique equilibrium sheets with Bitcoin.