Cryptocurrencies: Michael Saylor Declares the 'Bitcoin Reformation'

The chief preacher of Bitcoin changes his sermon once again. Seven weeks after swearing that the protocol should hardly evolve, Michael Saylor publishes a new lengthy text on X, titled "The Bitcoin Reformation." This time, it is not the code he wants to freeze, but the very role of the asset that he describes as undergoing a transformation. Bitcoin would shed its guise as a peer-to-peer electronic currency to don the role of a fundamental building block of global digital capital. Key points from this article: * Michael Saylor has published a new text titled "The Bitcoin Reformation" where he describes Bitcoin as a fundamental building block of global digital capital rather than just a peer-to-peer electronic currency. * Despite his previous opposition to any modification of the Bitcoin protocol, Saylor has advocated for a transformation of the ecosystem surrounding Bitcoin, while conducting occasional sales of bitcoins through his company Strategy to fund its dividend obligations. The central thesis hinges on a shift in vocabulary, but the implications go beyond semantics. In this text from August 24, Saylor describes an asset that would coexist with fiat currencies rather than replace them in everyday payments, establishing itself as global liquid capital without an issuer. Investors, he writes, now have multiple entry points: spot ETFs, bonds, preferred stocks, and derivatives, a stark contrast to the early days when self-custody was the only serious option. This institutionalization would become, according to him, the main driver of Bitcoin's integration into traditional finance, with banks and custodians leading the way. The next step, he writes, will see digital capital markets expand further, directly integrating into banking plumbing, securities, and credit, rather than remaining a separate compartment. A discourse that contrasts with the original conception of Bitcoin, designed to operate outside banks rather than within their balance sheets, at a time when self-custody was seen as an absolute dogma among early adopters. A shift that contrasts with his war against BIP-110 Just a few weeks earlier, Saylor had directly opposed BIP-110, a proposed modification to the protocol, comparing it to an infringement on the "economic rights" of holders. He was then defending a rigid, almost untouchable base layer. The apparent gap today is not contradictory on paper: the protocol layer would remain frozen, only the ecosystem that revolves around it (custody, financial products, regulation) would be called to undergo profound transformation. The gap between the two discourses, in such a short time, raises questions about the coherence of the character's editorial line. A year earlier, the same pen still defended Bitcoin as a tool for individual emancipation against banks. Today, it promises a deliberate rapprochement with these same institutions. Strategy, the theory tested by cash flow The gap between discourse and actions, for Saylor, is no longer a surprise for those closely following his company. In early August, his company Strategy was already selling over 100 million dollars worth of bitcoins to fund its dividend obligations, just weeks after swearing never to touch its reserve. A "digital credit capital framework" validated by its board of directors now allows this type of selective sale. Saylor may describe a Bitcoin undergoing transformation towards institutional infrastructure: his own treasury continues to deal with much more down-to-earth arbitrages than his prose suggests. Strategy still holds over 840,000 bitcoins, by far the largest corporate reserve listed in the world, which does not prevent occasional sales from weighing heavily on the coherence of the narrative he attempts to build article after article. This was not the first breach of the "never sell" mantra: as early as May, Strategy had already sold part of its position, causing a stir among the most strict adherents of the doctrine.

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