Mr. Sailor's New Guidelines: A Fundamental Victory for Bitcoin and a Shift Toward Strategy-Type Digital Lending Markets

Mr. Michael Saylor (Founder and Chairman of Strategy) appeared on the “What Bitcoin Did” podcast, where he outlined a new paradigm: that Bitcoin’s true success lies not in short-term price movements but in institutional and foundational adoption. He argues that the entire industry is facing a turning point that should be rephrased. Multiple regulatory and technological advancements realized through 2025 serve as indicators of this rephrased success.

Four Fundamental Developments Brought by the Regulatory Paradigm Shift in 2025

The fundamental change in the industry is reflected not in short-term price fluctuations but in institutional adoption. According to Saylor, the trend indicating that the number of companies holding Bitcoin on their balance sheets will grow from 30–60 in 2024 to approximately 200 by the end of 2025 suggests that the fundamentals remain strong.

The first turning point is the revival of the insurance market. When Saylor himself purchased Bitcoin in 2020, he was canceled by an insurance company. At that time, despite holding assets worth billions of dollars, the loss of insurance coverage meant he had to bear the company’s insurance costs with personal assets. However, by 2025, this situation was fundamentally rephrased. Insurance coverage was restored, and corporate Bitcoin holdings became market-justified.

Next, a shift in accounting standards enabled profit recognition. The introduction of fair value accounting allowed companies to record unrealized capital gains. The challenge of the alternative minimum tax on corporate income was also addressed through proactive government guidance, removing tax-related obstacles to Bitcoin holdings by publicly traded companies.

The regulatory environment also changed dramatically. Bitcoin was officially recognized by governments as the world’s primary and largest digital commodity. Most major US banks began offering loans collateralized by IBIT (iShares Bitcoin Trust), and about a quarter of banks plan to offer loans directly collateralized by Bitcoin (BTC). JPMorgan Chase and Morgan Stanley are in discussions regarding Bitcoin trading and processing.

Market infrastructure maturity also symbolizes this rephrased era. The Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) advanced the commercialization of Bitcoin derivatives, introducing a physical issuance and redemption mechanism allowing tax-free exchanges of $1 million worth of Bitcoin for IBIT or vice versa.

A New Paradigm Beyond Short-term Price Fluctuations: Establishing a Long-term Perspective

Saylor emphasizes a new guideline that short-term price predictions are meaningless. Despite Bitcoin reaching an all-time high 95 days ago, some market participants express concern over short-term price fluctuations afterward, which reflects a misunderstanding of Bitcoin’s core philosophy of “low time preference.”

Looking back at historic ideological movements, those dedicated to something have typically spent a decade on it. Many examples take 10 or 20 years. If the goal is to commercialize Bitcoin, a perspective spanning years—not weeks or months—is necessary. When evaluated with a 4-year moving average, Bitcoin’s performance shows an extremely bullish trend. This rephrased success indicator should be a more important guideline than short-term price movements.

Saylor states that the past 90 days have been an “excellent opportunity for foresightful investors to buy more Bitcoin,” emphasizing that the industry and technological networks are heading in the right direction.

Universal Capitalization of Bitcoin: A New Guideline for Corporate Adoption Strategies

Saylor advocates that every household and every company should be able to purchase Bitcoin. For loss-making companies, holding Bitcoin to improve their balance sheets is justified as a strategic move. For profitable companies, it could lead to increased revenues.

For example, a company with an annual loss of $10 million could hold $100 million worth of Bitcoin, generating $30 million in capital gains. In this case, the focus for criticism should not be on “buying Bitcoin” but on “ongoing losses.” Saylor’s guideline suggests a rephrased industry-wide evaluation standard.

Companies holding Bitcoin can be likened to factories equipped with power infrastructure. Bitcoin should be positioned not merely as a speculative asset but as a productivity-enhancing tool, a “universal capital of the digital age.” There are over 400 million companies worldwide. The question of whether the market will accept 200 Bitcoin-adopting companies itself indicates a loss of sight of this new paradigm, according to Saylor.

Digital Credit Market: Strategy’s Vision for a $10 Trillion New Paradigm

Saylor states that Strategy’s vision is not about entering banking but about entering the “digital credit” market. The goal is to leverage dollar reserves to enhance corporate creditworthiness and open the path to a massive digital lending market.

The potential market size for digital credit products could theoretically reach $10 trillion. If they capture 10% of the US Treasury market, the size would be $10 trillion. Considering how many companies currently issue senior credit or corporate credit, the market is far from saturated.

Unexplored areas include Bitcoin-backed derivatives, Bitcoin-backed exchanges, and even insurance companies utilizing Bitcoin as capital—all vast territories. Currently, there are zero insurance companies worldwide using Bitcoin as collateral or capital, and this industry could serve as a major growth driver.

Strategy’s reason for not entering banking is to avoid dispersing focus. Saylor emphasizes that transforming the global monetary system, banking system, and credit markets requires complete focus.

Securing dollar reserves is a strategy to enhance corporate creditworthiness and improve the company’s image among credit investors. Investors seeking credit may worry about Bitcoin or stock volatility but prefer assets with the highest creditworthiness. To become the largest player in digital credit, holding dollar reserves to boost credibility and strengthen product appeal is a crucial rephrased business guideline.

The fundamental philosophy of Strategy is simple: Bitcoin is digital capital, and Strategy is digital credit. The value of a business’s stock holdings depends not only on current capital utilization but also on future actions. Even if Saylor has yet to implement certain measures, the possibility of doing so underscores the importance of a long-term vision for the entire industry.