Michael Saylor's Surprise at the 2025 Bitcoin Institutionalization Turning Point—The Essence of Corporate Strategy That Should Be Rephrased

In the Bitcoin industry of 2025, a surprising turning point occurred that caught many market participants off guard. Michael Saylor, founder and chairman of MicroStrategy, emphasized the need to rephrase this dramatic change through a detailed interview on the “What Bitcoin Did” podcast. His argument that we should focus not on short-term price fluctuations but on the true victory of institutional and foundational adoption provides important insights for companies with Bitcoin strategies.

A Historic Leap Forward in Fundamentals Led to a Surprising Turning Point

The biggest factor that surprised Saylor was not short-term price volatility but the rapid development of the institutional infrastructure. From 2024 to 2025, the number of companies holding Bitcoin on their balance sheets surged from 30–60 to approximately 200. This figure tells a story of institutional adoption accelerating, rather than a mere speculative movement.

The revival of the insurance industry is a symbolic example. Saylor himself experienced a contract termination with an insurance company immediately after purchasing Bitcoin in 2020, but by 2025, this situation had been rephrased. Insurance coverage was restored, allowing companies to incorporate Bitcoin into their assets with greater confidence.

Additionally, the introduction of fair value accounting enabled companies to recognize unrealized capital gains as profits. This effectively rephrases the accounting standards themselves and directly improves transparency in corporate finance. The government’s formal recognition of Bitcoin as a major digital commodity also suggests a fundamental shift in the regulatory environment.

Integration into Banking Systems Rephrases Financial Infrastructure

A remarkable change in 2025 was also evident in the financial infrastructure. At the beginning of the year, only about 5 cents of loans could be obtained against $1 billion worth of Bitcoin collateral, but by year’s end, most major US banks had begun offering loans secured by IBIT (Bitcoin spot ETF), and about a quarter announced plans to directly collateralize BTC.

This rephrasing of the system indicates a change in perception on the part of banks. JPMorgan Chase and Morgan Stanley began discussions in early 2026 about trading and processing Bitcoin, preparing to incorporate digital assets into existing financial infrastructure.

The positive guidance from the Treasury Department on including cryptocurrencies in balance sheets, along with the chairpersons of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) expressing support for Bitcoin, also signifies a fundamental change in the stance of regulatory authorities.

Maturation of Market Infrastructure Drives Investment Strategies

At the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), commercialization of Bitcoin derivatives advanced, and a mechanism was introduced allowing tax-free exchange of $1 million worth of Bitcoin for IBIT (or vice versa). This system rephrases the market and diversifies options for investors.

Saylor summarized these developments as “all the elements necessary for the commercialization, globalization, and institutionalization of assets have been achieved by 2025.” This is a surprising achievement for market participants and evidence of the industry’s overall maturation.

A Framework for Rephrasing Short-term Price Predictions

What Saylor strongly advocates is that spending time on price predictions 100 or 180 days ahead is meaningless. Despite Bitcoin reaching new highs over the past 95 days, many market participants express concern and surprise at short-term price fluctuations.

At this point, Saylor references a 10,000-year historical perspective. Ideology-driven movements that succeed typically involve investments over ten years, with some spending 20 or 30 years. If the goal is the commercialization of Bitcoin, it is essential to rephrase the time horizon for evaluating success.

Evaluating Bitcoin’s performance using a 4-year moving average reveals a clear bullish trend. The industry is moving in the right direction, and the network is similarly progressing. Saylor rephrases that for the past 90 days, it has been a good opportunity for forward-looking investors to increase their Bitcoin holdings.

Digital Capital in the Digital Age That Should Be Rephrased

One of the questions that surprised Saylor was whether the market could handle over 200 companies purchasing Bitcoin. In response, he calls for a fundamental rephrasing.

“Criticizing companies for buying Bitcoin is misguided. There are 400 million companies worldwide, so why worry about 200?” This points to a rephrasing of the focus of the debate. The criticism should not be directed at companies’ Bitcoin purchases but at the strategic shortcomings of companies that hold Bitcoin without generating ongoing losses.

The value creation mechanism for Bitcoin-holding companies is clear. Even loss-making companies can generate capital gains from rising asset values on their balance sheets. For example, even if a company incurs a $10 million annual loss, holding $1 billion worth of Bitcoin and generating a $30 million capital gain from it should reframe the initial criticism.

Saylor rephrases Bitcoin as “a universal capital of the digital age.” The analogy that Bitcoin, like power infrastructure powering all machinery in factories, becomes the foundation driving all activities in the digital economy surprises market participants and provides a perspective that should fundamentally rephrase investment strategies.

Rephrasing Strategy with a Vision for the Digital Credit Market

MicroStrategy’s reluctance to enter banking stems from a clear business philosophy. Saylor explains the strategy simply as “Bitcoin is digital capital, Strategy is digital credit.”

The potential scale of the digital credit market exceeds what might be surprising. No matter how many companies issue high-end credit products or corporate credit, the market will not saturate. Derivative businesses backed by Bitcoin, exchanges collateralized by Bitcoin, and even the insurance industry backed by Bitcoin are almost nonexistent today.

Accumulating dollar reserves is a strategy to enhance corporate creditworthiness. Buyers of credit products prepare safe assets like dollars to avoid volatility, thereby increasing the attractiveness of these products. This rephrases traditional financial thinking and lays the groundwork necessary for establishing a digital credit market.

As Saylor states, “The stock prices of business companies are influenced not only by current capital utilization but also by future potential. Just because they are not doing it now doesn’t mean they can’t.” This core point rephrases the entire strategy and is already surprising market participants, fundamentally redefining the strategic direction of Bitcoin-related companies.