MicroStrategy founder Michael Saylor has walked back his controversial statement suggesting that big banks should take custody of Bitcoin, following significant backlash from the crypto community.
“I support self-custody for those willing and able, the right to self-custody for all, and freedom to choose the form of custody and custodian for individuals and institutions globally,” Saylor clarified in an Oct. 23 post on X.
Saylor faced criticism from prominent figures, including Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin, after his recent interview, where he referred to “paranoid crypto-anarchists” and suggested that Bitcoin holders should entrust their assets to “too big to fail” banks engineered to handle financial custody.
In his follow-up post, Saylor aimed to appease the community, stating, “Bitcoin benefits from all forms of investment by all types of entities, and should welcome everyone.”
VanEck adviser Gabor Gurbacs responded by saying that Saylor’s position shouldn’t be controversial and was “just common sense,” while Dash marketer Joel Valenzuela labeled Saylor’s change of tone as “capitulation,” accusing him of showing his “true colors.”
The initial Oct. 21 interview sparked debate over the importance of self-custody, drawing criticism from Bitcoin supporters like Samson Mow, who ridiculed Saylor’s “crypto-anarchist” remark. Max Keiser also weighed in on Oct. 23, stating, “The recent comments attacking self-custody demonstrate a regressive tendency to favor the legacy, centralized banking crooks that Bitcoin fixes.”
On the same day, Ledger CEO Pascal Gauthier addressed the issue at a blockchain event in Dubai, emphasizing, “There is no crypto without self-custody.” He pointed out that relying on exchanges or ETFs undermines the essence of crypto, though he also acknowledged that self-custody carries risks, referencing Ledger’s 2020 data breach that exposed customers’ personal information, resulting in ongoing phishing attacks.
