- Michael Saylor believes publishing Proof-of-Reserves is a bad idea for the firms
- Saylor sparked controversy by saying Proof-of-Reserves raises security concerns and confirms only half of the picture, as it doesn’t include liabilities
Michael Saylor is one of the top personalities when it comes to crypto. His relentless Bitcoin investments through the Strategy are something the crypto community admires and adopts. The Bitcoin maxi sparked a debate earlier today by saying that publishing Proof-of-Reserves is a bad idea for companies.
Bitcoin proponent and analyst Mitchell brought Saylor’s comments to light by sharing his video on X. In one of the events related to the Bitcoin 2025 Conference, Saylor was asked if Strategy would adopt a Proof-of-Reserves policy. Saylor said it is a bad idea, pointing out security risks it would pose from malicious actors.
Saylor says,
“The current conventionally published Proof-of-Reserves is an insecure Proof-of-Reserves. It actually dilutes the security of the issuer, the custodians, the exchanges, and the investors. It’s not a good idea. It’s a bad idea.”
The Strategy executive chairman went on to defend his point of view about Proof of Reserves. He even compared publishing the asset wallet addresses to publishing the addresses, phone numbers, and bank accounts of family members, and assuming it makes the family better.
Michael Saylor even suggested that the audience ask AI what the potential security risks one might face are for publicly posting wallet addresses. AI would give a book of 50 pages, detailing the security risks it would welcome.
Saylor addresses two issues with PoR: it is insecure, and it doesn’t include proof of liabilities. When Saylor implied that publicly posting only assets and not liabilities doesn’t actually improve transparency. Even though the crypto community doesn’t support Saylor’s view, he might actually have a point.
Grok Says “No Documented Cases Exist” for Publishing Wallet Addresses
Michael Saylor’s opinion attracted different comments from the crypto community. While some of them supported his view, others called it a “canned response”. Meanwhile, one of the X users, Krev23, tagged Grok AI and asked its opinion on Saylor’s video.
Grok AI said Saylor’s opinion has some merit, but it is debated. But it agreed that publishing PoR would not prove a firm’s solvency, as it doesn’t include liabilities. However, it didn’t agree with the security concern raised by Saylor. It says PoR doesn’t bring any security concerns as modern methods use Merkle trees and audits.
Grok says,
“Saylor’s caution isn’t baseless, but suspicions of hiding assets lack evidence. It’s a trade-off: security vs openness. The industry leans toward PoR, but the debate persists.”
When the same user further probed Grok regarding Strategy’s claims about Bitcoin purchases and its actual asset holdings, Grok said publishing PoR would increase transparency for Strategy. However, Strategy’s audited reports already confirm its transparency regarding its asset holdings.
Nonetheless, Saylor opened doors for a debate that doesn’t seem to end anytime soon for the crypto community.
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