Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of Ethereum, has spoken out against MicroStrategy chairman Michael Saylor’s recent statements in favor of Bitcoin being held by institutions.
People in the Bitcoin community are surprised by Michael Saylor’s plan to have “too big to fail” banks and other large financial institutions handle Bitcoin security. Buterin and others said this method goes against how Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies work, which is that they are decentralized.
Vitalik Buterin Criticizes Michael Saylor
Because of what Michael Saylor said, Vitalik Buterin spoke out against it and called Saylor’s plan “batshit insane.” Buterin, who has had a big impact on discussions about decentralization in the crypto space, said that depending on big banks like BlackRock and Fidelity to store Bitcoin goes against the basic ideas behind cryptocurrencies.
He also said that Michael Saylor’s plan leads to regulatory capture, which means that big banks take over Bitcoin and threaten its independence.
Vitalik Buterin remembered that he had talked about some decentralized ideas in the past. However, the arrival of new cryptographic tools like zk-SNARKs and account abstraction has altered the self-custody environment. He said that the real value of crypto is that it is decentralized and can be used without going through the traditional banking systems.
Change from Self-Custody for Michael Saylor
Someone who likes Bitcoin, Michael Saylor, has said that self-custody is a good way to keep the Bitcoin network safe. Saylor emphasized how important self-custody is because without it, there can’t be an autonomous network after the FTX mess in 2022.
Still, in a recent conversation with financial reporter Madison Reidy, Saylor changed his mind and said that big banks, not Bitcoin users, should be in charge of keeping the currency safe.
Saylor also played down the dangers of what the government could do, calling anyone who thinks that the government would take Bitcoins “paranoid crypto-anarchists.” He said that big banks are better suited to be Bitcoin’s guardians because they are bigger and have more experience. Many people in the Bitcoin community are angry about Saylor’s change of heart because they think he wants central organizations to control a decentralized asset.
Jameson Lopp and Other Critics Respond
Another person who joined the conversation was Jameson Lopp, co-founder of Casa and a strong backer of Bitcoin self-custody. He stressed how important self-custody is for the health of the Bitcoin network.
Lopp says it’s clear that putting a lot of Bitcoins in the hands of a few big companies is dangerous. He also said that this could lead to new structural risks, such as asset seizure or loss. Lopp also said that self-custody lets Bitcoin users run their own nodes and make decisions about software updates and forks, which are all parts of the network’s control.
People like Simon Dixon and John Carvalho also didn’t like Saylor’s support for banks, which was similar to the Ethereum co-founder’s view. Dixon said Saylor’s new job might be related to MicroStrategy’s business plan, since the company might want to turn into a Bitcoin bank.
Saylor was accused by Carvalho of wanting to make Bitcoin only an investment tool instead of a way to pay for things. This, he said, would hurt Bitcoin’s promise as a decentralized financial system.
Even so, Michael Saylor’s business, MicroStrategy, owns more than 252,000 BTC, making it the biggest company that holds Bitcoin. Saylor is still optimistic about Bitcoin’s future, even though it has been criticized. He thinks that the price of a Bitcoin could hit $13 million by 2045.
