Michael Saylor Rejects Public On-Chain Proof of Reserves: “It’s a Security Risk”

Speaking on the topic of whether MicroStrategy would ever publish its group of on-chain reserves, Saylor emphasized that the conventional approach to proof of reserves actually weakens—not strengthens—security for stakeholders across the crypto ecosystem.

“A lot of people learned lessons from FTX, but not necessarily the lessons the institutional community needs to learn,” Saylor said. “The current method of publishing proof of reserves is insecure. It dilutes the security of the issuer, the custodians, the exchanges, and the investors. It’s a bad idea.”

“Proof of Reserves” Is Not Proof of Liabilities

Saylor pointed out a fundamental flaw in the way proof of reserves is currently implemented in the crypto industry: it typically only shows assets, not liabilities. This incomplete picture, he argues, gives a false sense of security while introducing new vulnerabilities.

“Most of what’s being presented as proof of reserves is actually just proof of assets. It doesn’t reflect the liabilities, and that matters a lot. If you’re not proving both sides of the balance sheet, you’re not proving anything of real value.”

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Public Wallet Addresses Invite Long-Term Security Threats

Beyond the accounting shortcomings, Saylor strongly warned against publicly revealing wallet addresses. He compared the practice to exposing personal financial data for an entire family.

“It’s like publishing the addresses and bank accounts of all your kids—and their phone numbers—and thinking that somehow makes your family safer. It doesn’t. It puts them at risk.”

He explained that no serious enterprise security expert would ever advise making wallet addresses public due to the ability for anyone to trace every transaction, creating a permanent trail and opening the door to long-term threats.

“Ask an AI to list the security risks of publishing wallet addresses. You’ll get a 50-page book. This is not something any institutional-grade security team would endorse.”

A Call for Rethinking Crypto Security

Saylor’s comments make it clear that MicroStrategy has no intention of publishing its on-chain reserves under the current standards. He views the practice as incompatible with robust institutional security protocols and warns the industry to avoid being lulled into a false sense of transparency.

“If we really care about crypto security, we need to rethink the framework entirely. Publishing wallet addresses is not the solution.”

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