Key Highlights
- Michael Saylor says Bitcoin is entering a new era as it develops from a peer-to-peer payment network into a broader global capital system.
- Bitcoin gained more than 20% in a week, briefly approaching $79,000, while U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded about $1.92 billion in weekly inflows.
- Saylor says Bitcoin does not need to replace banks, governments or fiat currencies, but can work alongside them as a scarce and portable digital capital asset.
Michael Saylor, founder and executive chairman of Strategy, says Bitcoin is entering a new era as the cryptocurrency grows beyond its early role as a peer-to-peer payment network and becomes part of the wider financial system.
In a detailed post on X, titled “The Bitcoin Reformation,” Saylor said Bitcoin has changed greatly since it was created by the anonymous developer known as Satoshi Nakamoto.
What started as an experiment among cryptographers is now being used by individuals, investment funds, public companies, banks, custodians, exchanges, and governments, according to Saylor. His comments come as Bitcoin (BTC) gained more than 20% over the past week and traded above $79,000 at the time of this writing, according to CoinMarketCap data (on August 24 at 23:14 IST).
Saylor said some ideas that developed during Bitcoin’s early years have since become overly rigid. He described this thinking as “Bitcoin Orthodoxy.” It includes the view that Satoshi’s views should be treated as final, self-custody is the only proper way to own Bitcoin, banks and governments should disappear, and financial products linked to Bitcoin are simply “paper Bitcoin.”
He explained that these beliefs had a reason in Bitcoin’s early days. The network had to survive exchange failures, hacks, regulatory uncertainty, and a lack of deep financial markets. Distrusting institutions helped protect the young network. However, Saylor argued that a rule that helped Bitcoin survive its early years should not stop it from growing now.
Bitcoin’s recent rally draws institutional demand
That argument comes at a time when Bitcoin itself is showing signs of wider market interest. The cryptocurrency moved from around $62,800- $64,500 during the previous week to almost $79,000 by August 21, its highest level since May. It later settled around the $76,000-$77,000 range, according to CoinMarketCap data.
Institutional demand also strengthened during the period. U.S. spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds recorded about $1.92 billion in weekly inflows, according to data from SoSoValue.
From digital gold to digital capital
Saylor’s argument, however, centers on Bitcoin’s role in the financial system rather than its recent price performance.
He said Bitcoin does not have to replace the dollar or destroy banks and governments to succeed. Fiat currencies can continue to handle taxes, wages and everyday spending, while Bitcoin can serve as a scarce and portable asset for storing and moving capital.
“Self-custody remains a vital right and a competitive check,” Saylor wrote, but added that it “is not a universal duty.”
Saylor defends choice of custody
Saylor said individuals and institutions should be able to choose how they hold Bitcoin. Some may prefer to keep their own private keys, while others may use professional or shared custody. The important point, he said, is that users should understand the risks and have the ability to move their assets when needed.
Saylor called this approach “counterparty discrimination.” Rather than rejecting every bank, custodian or financial company, users should examine who controls their assets, what protects them, what risks they face and whether they can exit.
He also defended the growth of Bitcoin-linked financial products. ETFs, company shares, debt, credit products and derivatives are not the same as owning Bitcoin directly, but Saylor argued that they can help connect Bitcoin with different parts of the global financial system.
Bitcoin’s next phase could expand financial applications
Saylor described this broader role as “digital capital.” In his view, Bitcoin could serve as a base asset for new forms of equity, credit, debt, money and other financial products.
He argued that wider institutional participation does not require Bitcoin to abandon its original characteristics. Instead, he said the network can retain scarcity, portability and the ability to own and transfer the asset while becoming integrated into a broader financial system.
The argument marks a shift from viewing Bitcoin primarily through the lens of payments or “digital gold” toward treating it as an asset that can operate across both crypto-native and traditional financial markets.
For Saylor, the choice is therefore not necessarily between self-custody and institutional custody or between Bitcoin and traditional finance. Instead, he argues that Bitcoin can coexist with existing financial institutions while expanding its role as a form of digital capital.
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