After major criticism from the crypto community, MicroStrategy inventor Michael Saylor has changed his opinion on Bitcoin self-custody. Leading players in the field objected to Saylor’s first recommendation—that Bitcoin owners should rely on big institutions for asset safekeeping. In reply, he has now made clear that he regards self-custody as a basic right.
Saylor posted on social media, stating, “I support self-custody for those willing and able, the right to self-custody for all, and the freedom to choose the form of custody and custodian for individuals and institutions globally.” This change follows his criticism of Bitcoin owners depending on big financial institutions, a stance that infuriated many supporters of distributed finance.
Saylor’s earlier remarks alluded to “paranoid crypto-anarchists” and advised that Bitcoin investors would find more security if they trusted reputable banks—often labeled as “too big to fail.” Prominent figures in the crypto world, such as Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin, who labeled the concept as “insane” and argued that it contradicted the distributed values of cryptocurrencies, responded negatively to this comment.
Other business executives, like Dash marketer Joel Valenzuela and Bitcoin advocate Samson Mow, have voiced discontent, underscoring the need for self-custody in preserving financial independence. Promoting reliance on centralized institutions, according to detractors, compromises the very core values of Bitcoin and other digital currencies.
Saylor underlined, despite the change in tone, that Bitcoin gains from all kinds of investment—including third-party custodians or self-custody. He underlined that regardless of how investors choose to save their money, crypto has to be available to all.
The argument over self-custody draws attention to the wider gulf separating the distributed universe of cryptocurrencies from centralized financial services. Although self-custody comes with hazards, including maybe losing access to private keys, many in the crypto community see it as a fundamental component of financial sovereignty.
Having one of the biggest corporate Bitcoin holdings, Saylor’s business, MicroStrategy, has long been a significant participant in the Bitcoin market. Although Saylor has now advocated self-custody, his prior comments have started a more extensive discussion on the balance between institutional trust and personal accountability in the crypto scene.
