Michael Saylor clarifies stance on Bitcoin custody amid community backlash

• Michael Saylor reverses his stance after facing backlash for advocating big banks to oversee Bitcoin custody.
• Concerns rise over Bitcoin’s centralization risk due to increasing institutional involvement.

After facing widespread backlash from the crypto community, MicroStrategy founder Michael Saylor walked back his comments which suggested that large banks should oversee Bitcoin [BTC] custody.

This stemmed from the ongoing concerns that such a move could lead to centralization and increase the risk of government intervention.

Michael Saylor steps back from his earlier stance

Addressing these concerns, Saylor clarified his position, asserting that individuals and institutions should have the autonomy to decide how they store and manage their BTC holdings. 

In a 23rd October post on X, Saylor stated, 

“I support self-custody for those willing & able, the right to self-custody for all, and freedom to choose the form of custody & custodian for individuals & institutions globally. #Bitcoin benefits from all forms of investment by all types of entities, and should welcome everyone.” 

Saylor, once celebrated for his personal Bitcoin strategy and the massive investments made by his company MicroStrategy ,now finds his reputation under strain.

For those unaware, Saylor recently advocated for BTC holders to trust large, “too big to fail” financial institutions, asserting that these entities are well-equipped to securely manage significant assets like Bitcoin.

This remark openly challenged Saylor’s position, with Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin questioning the wisdom of relying on centralized institutions in a space built on decentralization. 

Buterin said, 

“I’ll happily say that I think Saylor’s comments are batshit insane. He seems to be explicitly arguing for a regulatory capture approach to protecting crypto.”  

Mixed community reaction

Despite his attempts to resolve the recent controversy, Saylor’s image seems to have taken a hit. 

Remarking on the same, a crypto analyst pointed out, 

Source: Max Keiser/X

Adding to the fray was another X user Joel Valenzuela who said, 

“Capitulation. But you showed your true colors.”

Needless to say, the fallout has raised concerns over whether his once-solid pro-Bitcoin image can fully recover. 

However many came in support of Saylor.