Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has strongly criticized MicroStrategy founder Michael Saylor’s recent comments advocating for Bitcoin custody through large banks, calling them “batshit insane.” This response adds to a growing wave of backlash from the crypto community.
Saylor suggested on October 21 that Bitcoin holders should depend on “too big to fail” banks, which he believes are designed to safeguard financial assets. This marked a stark departure from his earlier emphasis on self-custody. In reaction to Saylor’s remarks, Buterin stated, “I’ll happily say that I think Saylor’s comments are batshit insane,” referencing a post from Bitcoin custody firm Casa’s chief security officer, Jameson Lopp, who championed self-custody.
Buterin further argued that Saylor seemed to be endorsing a “regulatory capture approach to protecting crypto,” where major investment firms like BlackRock and Fidelity would hold Bitcoin, leading to significant regulatory oversight and potential risks. He warned that there’s ample precedent for this strategy to fail, emphasizing that it contradicts the core principles of cryptocurrency.
In his interview with financial markets reporter Madison Reidy, Saylor also criticized “crypto-anarchists,” cautioning that unregulated entities that disregard government regulations pose a higher risk of asset seizure.
The crypto community’s criticism has intensified since Saylor’s comments. Lopp asserted that self-custody is vital for individual Bitcoin holders and essential for the network’s overall strength. ShapeShift founder Erik Voorhees echoed this sentiment, highlighting that the ability to withdraw Bitcoin into self-custody is crucial for preventing centralization and corruption.
In the past, Saylor had argued for the custody of crypto by large centralized intermediaries, which he reiterated just weeks after the FTX collapse, where many users lost their Bitcoin stored on the platform. This context has fueled the current backlash against his recent statements.