Reasonable Adoption of Bitcoin Becomes a New Norm in Corporate Strategy — Michael Saylor Highlights the Historic Turning Point in 2025

The Bitcoin of 2025 is not just a year of price appreciation but is positioned as a turning point accelerated by institutional and infrastructural changes. Multiple developments mentioned by Strategy founder and chairman Michael Saylor on the “What Bitcoin Did” podcast reveal how rapidly digital asset commercialization is progressing. Saylor repeatedly emphasizes that the changes occurring in the Bitcoin market are “rational business decisions,” providing a detailed explanation of the policy environment and market infrastructure improvements behind these shifts.

Multiple advancements in foundational aspects accelerate institutional adoption — in other words, the commercialization of Bitcoin is becoming a reality

As of 2024, the number of companies holding Bitcoin on their balance sheets was around 30 to 60, but projections indicate this will reach approximately 200 by the end of 2025. This rapid increase has been enabled by several institutional changes implemented over the past year.

The revival of the insurance market is a symbolic example. Saylor recounted that when he purchased Bitcoin in 2020, insurance companies had to cancel contracts, and for the following four years, companies had to insure their assets with personal funds. By 2025, this situation reversed, and major companies’ Bitcoin holdings are now again insured, indicating that the policy environment has begun to permit corporate adoption from a risk management perspective.

The introduction of fair value accounting has allowed companies to recognize unrealized capital gains from Bitcoin holdings as profits. Previously, this was complicated by issues related to alternative minimum taxes on corporate taxes, but proactive government guidance resolved this by 2025.

Even more importantly, Bitcoin has been officially recognized by the government as “the world’s leading and largest digital commodity.” In response, major US banks have begun to offer loans collateralized by Bitcoin. At the start of the year, loans secured by $1 billion worth of Bitcoin could only be obtained at about 5 cents on the dollar, but by the end of the year, most large banks had started offering loans collateralized by IBIT, and about a quarter of banks are planning to offer direct BTC collateralized loans. JPMorgan Chase and Morgan Stanley are also exploring Bitcoin trading and processing.

Market infrastructure maturity is also a crucial factor. The Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) has accelerated the commercialization of Bitcoin derivatives, and mechanisms for tax-free physical exchanges between ETFs (IBIT) and Bitcoin have been introduced. The ability to exchange $1 million worth of Bitcoin for an equivalent amount of IBIT tax-free symbolizes the integration of institutional and market systems.

Beyond short-term forecasts — long-term fundamentals provide the basis for a bullish outlook

In the discussion, Saylor criticizes the tendency to react to short-term price fluctuations and advocates focusing on long-term fundamentals.

His assertion that predicting short-term market movements is “pointless” is rooted in Bitcoin’s philosophical foundation. Maintaining a low time preference is central to Bitcoin’s ideology, and even looking back over 10,000 years of history, those committed to ideological movements typically require a decade-long time horizon. Evaluating success over short periods risks missing the long-term value growth.

Saylor points out that Bitcoin’s performance, when evaluated with a four-year moving average, shows a strongly bullish trend. The fact that Bitcoin recently hit a new high 95 days ago and that pessimistic assessments based on short-term price declines are misguided underscores the importance of recognizing substantial progress.

Regarding price predictions for 2026, the same logic applies: forecasts for 90 or 180 days ahead should be avoided. This perspective encourages market participants to shift their viewpoint. While expressing confidence that the industry is heading in the right direction, Saylor suggests viewing recent 90-day price declines as “an excellent opportunity to buy more Bitcoin.”

Corporate Bitcoin purchases are not speculation but rational business decisions

Behind Saylor’s emphasis on “rationality” is a rebuttal to arguments criticizing corporate Bitcoin holdings as mere speculation.

He questions what is problematic if a company, despite recording a $10 million annual loss, holds $100 million worth of Bitcoin on its balance sheet and generates $30 million in capital gains through that holding. The real issue should not be the Bitcoin purchase itself but the “ongoing losses.” This logic underscores the legitimacy of Bitcoin holdings as a financial strategy.

Saylor challenges the notion that companies holding Bitcoin are “purely financial entities.” Comparing to factories with power infrastructure, he argues that Bitcoin is also a “universal capital of the digital age,” serving as a tool to improve productivity. This distinction clarifies the line between speculation and investment.

Given that there are approximately 400 million companies worldwide, questioning why only about 200 are engaging in Bitcoin purchases seems less convincing. Instead, the focus should be on why companies are unable to buy Bitcoin, and the expectation of a future where all companies can do so points to significant market expansion potential.

If the fundamental principle is that company value depends on operational performance, then capital efficiency gained through Bitcoin holdings is entirely rational. For loss-making companies, it can improve the balance sheet; for profitable ones, it can boost earnings. In other words, Bitcoin purchases are a survival and growth strategy for companies.

Digital Credit Market — Strategy’s Next Challenge

Strategy’s ultimate vision is not just to be a holder of Bitcoin but to establish a “digital credit market.”

The reason Strategy is not entering banking is to maintain focus and maximize market opportunities. By offering “digital credit” products that leverage dollar reserves to enhance corporate creditworthiness, they believe they can expand their business almost infinitely.

The product called STRC (Strategy Deferred Digital Credit) is envisioned as a listed product with a 10% dividend yield and V-value of 1 or 2. If they capture 10% of the US Treasury market, it would amount to a colossal $10 trillion market, illustrating the potential of the digital credit space.

While investors purchasing credit are concerned about Bitcoin and stock volatility, the strategy of holding dollar reserves to improve corporate creditworthiness is an attempt to develop a new market segment. The possibilities for financial businesses utilizing digital capital—such as issuing senior or corporate credit, Bitcoin-backed derivatives, exchanges, and even insurance companies—are vast.

Currently, no insurance companies use Bitcoin as collateral or capital, highlighting the untapped market size. If Strategy becomes a pioneer in this field, it will establish itself as a key player in building the financial infrastructure of the digital age.

Considering that company value depends not only on current capital utilization but also on future business potential, Strategy’s long-term stock valuation is supported by the latent potential of unrecognized digital credit ventures.