Strategy’s Saylor Sidesteps On-Chain Proof of Bitcoin Reserves, Says Audits Are Enough

Michael Saylor, executive chairman of Strategy, the largest Bitcoin treasury company holding $72 billion worth of BTC, stopped short of committing to on-chain proof of its reserves during the company’s Q2 2025 earnings call, despite direct questions from analysts.

Asked whether proof of reserves would make sense for the company, Saylor said Strategy is “studying it” but argued the practice could pose operational and security risks.

He pointed to Galaxy Digital’s recent facilitation of an 80,000 BTC sale as a warning, claiming it caused “a massive dislocation in the market” and sparked speculation over routine transactions.

“[...] we just had a famous example of a concern, which is 80,000 Bitcoin got transferred to Galaxy, who then sold them, and everybody in the world knew that the Bitcoin was moving and they knew where it went to and they knew who was dealing with it and they knew when it happened and it created a massive dislocation in the market [...],” Saylor said.

Saylor’s statement contrasts with market coverage of the sale — executed for a “Satoshi-era” investor — which was absorbed with minimal lasting price impact. Amid that transaction, the price of Bitcoin (BTC) momentarily dropped from around $119,000 to nearly $115,000 but then retraced back to $118,000.

Preference for Audits

The Strategy founder also suggested that trust in auditors, management, and the board offers “a much higher degree of transparency in the capital markets than simply publishing a single wallet address.” He added that any approach to proof of reserves must avoid triggering market swings or exposing the firm to security risks, without elaborating on the matter.

Phong Le, president and CEO of Strategy, acknowledged “the irony” of a Bitcoin-focused company resisting blockchain-based transparency but said dedicating staff to proof of reserves would divert resources from product development. CFO Andrew Kang pointed to 27 years of internal controls and oversight by two major audit firms as sufficient assurance for investors.

“I do get the irony of people wanting to access Bitcoin for its decentralized, transparent nature and in buying Bitcoin-backed securities through a U.S. public company. But what we do and what we provide on top of Bitcoin with MSTR is we provide superior performance through intelligent leverage [...]” Le said.

As of Aug. 1, Strategy holds 628,791 BTC, up roughly 25% since the start of the year, per data from Bitcoin Treasuries. The company’s average purchase price is about $73,277, for a total cost basis of around $46.08 billion. At current prices, its holdings are worth more than $72 billion.