Michael Saylor Warns About Proof of Reserve

In the wake of the FTX crash, the proof-of-reserve principle has become increasingly popular as a transparency tool within the crypto sector.

In the wake of the FTX crash, the proof-of-reserve principle has grown increasingly popular as a transparency tool within the crypto sector. Major exchanges like Binance are making their wallets publicly auditable so investors can verify at all times that reserves are sufficient. Yet Michael Saylor, founder of MicroStrategy, warns about the downside of this approach.

During a View post on X at a side event of the Bitcoin 2025 conference in Las Vegas, Saylor called the whole concept of on-chain proof of reserves outright “a bad idea.” According to him, the current way of making such data public actually undermines the safety of all involved parties: issuers and custodians, exchanges, and investors.

"The conventional method of publishing proof of reserves is effectively unsafe," Saylor said. "It harms the integrity of the system instead of strengthening it."

When Mitchell Askew, head analyst at Blockware Solutions, then directly asked him whether MicroStrategy itself would make its reserves public, Saylor left the question unanswered.

Although Proof of Reserve has evolved into an industry standard since the FTX collapse—albeit without any legal obligation—it remains a sensitive topic. FTX at the time couldn’t cover customer funds, leading to one of the biggest bankruptcies in crypto history.

Saylor’s sharp criticism of this practice underscores the split in the sector over how best to ensure transparency and safety.