Arkham Intelligence is facing criticism for revealing 97% of Michael Saylor and MicroStrategy's Bitcoin holdings.
Due to Saylor's influence in the cryptocurrency market, this disclosure has raised concerns about centralization, operational risks, and market collapse.
Arkham Criticized for Exposing Strategic Bitcoin Wallets
Beincrypto reported Arkham's initial discovery on Thursday, May 29th. It linked 70,816 BTC tokens to MicroStrategy (current strategy). This discovery violated Saylor's stance on maintaining secrecy.
"The current typical proof of reserves is an unsafe proof of reserves. Institutional or enterprise security analysts would not think that exposing wallets is a good idea," Saylor claimed.
Despite mixed emotions from the disclosure, the blockchain analysis company conducted another discovery expanding from 87.5% to 97% of Strategy's Bitcoin holdings.
Specifically, Arkham Intelligence additionally identified 53,833 BTC, valued at approximately $5.75 billion. This brings Saylor's Bitcoin holdings to $59.92 billion.
BREAKING: WE'VE IDENTIFIED EVEN MORE OF SAYLOR'S BTC – 97% OF ALL HOLDINGS
— Arkham (@arkham) May 29, 2025
We have identified an additional 53,833 BTC ($5.75B), bringing our coverage of Saylor's Bitcoin holdings to $59.92B, almost ALL of his BTC.
We are the first to publicly identify these holdings. pic.twitter.com/uPTxcU9mR2
According to blockchain experts, this effort is part of a push towards free and public Proof of Reserves (PoR).
While Arkham celebrates this as a milestone of transparency by being the first to publicly identify these holdings, many in the cryptocurrency industry view it as a dangerous privacy invasion.
Michael Saylor and Strategy: A Single Point of Failure?
Particularly, industry voices are raising concerns about the consequences of exposing large Bitcoin holdings linked to a single entity, especially considering Michael Saylor's influence in the cryptocurrency market.
"If they move that BTC from the wallet, expect market collapse. We've discovered a new point of failure," Marcus, a crypto nomad and Bitcoin veteran, warned.
Others echoed concerns about docking risks, including meme coin trader MadPunk, who again emphasized concerns about market selling.
"If you think you're doing something cool after docking his secret wallet, the entire market will collapse when he tries to sell Bitcoin," the trader wrote.
This disclosure has sparked a fierce debate about the balance between transparency, operational security, and market participant influence. Some believe public blockchain data should be used to verify unverified corporate claims.
"To those asking why Arkham did this... Have you forgotten why the 2009 collapse happened? Have you heard of paper gold and paper Bitcoin? Do you know companies lie to gain reputation and money? If you're bragging about buying $60 billion worth of Bitcoin... show the receipts," popular X user The Modern Investor mentioned.
Meanwhile, some view exposing holdings of prominent individuals as undermining Bitcoin's censorship resistance and spirit of personal sovereignty.
These sentiments see Strategy holding a significant portion of Bitcoin's circulating supply as putting the entire market at risk.
Saylor has long claimed Bitcoin is the best asset, converting MicroStrategy's cash holdings to Bitcoin and increasing debt to acquire BTC.
"More Bitcoin is better than Bitcoin," Saylor wrote.
With most of his wallets now exposed, analysts suggest Michael Saylor could be cornered. Meanwhile, others argue Bitcoin maximalists may have no intention of selling BTC.
"Haha, Saylor doesn't want to sell. He already holds the best asset. What would he sell for? He sold fiat currency for Bitcoin. Would you sell dollars for Indian rupees? The answer is no. Selling BTC for dollars is the same," another popular X user Josef Rakich said.
Concerns remain. If any of these wallets show external activity, the market might interpret it as a liquidation signal, potentially causing panic.
Now that large holdings are traceable to publicly connected addresses, some suggest malicious actors might directly target Saylor or Strategy, especially given precedents of the US leading in cryptocurrency kidnapping cases and increasing crypto crime in France.
Arkham's campaign has tested the transparency culture of cryptocurrency while revealing how fragile market sentiment is in the blockchain space. Saylor's Bitcoin, once a symbol of confidence, has now become a global risk variable.
