TDLR
- Saylor says Bitcoin is the best corporate treasury asset, outperforming stocks, bonds, and gold.
- Traditional strategies like stock buybacks and bonds create “zombie companies” that can’t grow or compete.
- Strategy’s Bitcoin bet turned it from a struggling firm into a $52B powerhouse with massive stock gains.
- Saylor pitched Microsoft, claiming Bitcoin could’ve added up to $5T in value—yet 99% of shareholders rejected the idea.
Michael Saylor, Executive Chairman of Bitcoin development firm Strategy, believes Bitcoin represents the most effective treasury strategy for modern companies aiming for sustainable growth and a competitive edge.
Apple, Microsoft’s Treasury Strategies no Match for BTC
Delivering a keynote speech at the Bitcoin for Corporations 2025 conference on Wednesday in Florida, Saylor used data-driven comparisons, pitting Bitcoin against the Magnificent Seven stocks, sovereign bonds, and gold to argue that traditional corporate treasury strategies are fundamentally broken. He presented Bitcoin as the structural solution.
“Bitcoin is the solution to the problem,” Saylor noted, contrasting it with conventional corporate strategies that he claims lead to what he describes as “zombie companies”. These are publicly traded entities unable to beat market indices, raise capital effectively, or take strategic risks.
Saylor presented striking data showing that 96% of public companies underperform the “Magnificent Seven” tech giants like Apple and 85% fail to beat the S&P 500. Rather than competing directly with digital monopolies like Microsoft and Apple, Saylor advocates for what he calls “merging with Bitcoin” or allocating corporate treasury assets to Bitcoin instead of traditional instruments like treasury bonds or stock buybacks.
“If you want to 10x your money, you buy Bitcoin. If you want to 100x your money, you buy Bitcoin with someone else’s money,” Saylor explained.
Strategy’s Success Story
He further outlined how Strategy transformed from a struggling software company with an enterprise value of just $6 per share in 2020 to a financial powerhouse through its Bitcoin strategy. At press time the firm held a total of 553,555 BTC worth over $52 billion, following another purchase earlier this week
According to charts presented during the keynote, Bitcoin has delivered approximately 56% annualized returns over recent years, dramatically outperforming traditional treasury management approaches. Saylor characterized Bitcoin as “digital capital” arguing it represents a paradigm shift similar to other digital transformations that have revolutionized industries.
“Digital is always better. Digital pictures are better. Digital relationships, digital messages, digital documents, digital videos. Ask Kodak, ask Polaroid,” Saylor added, framing Bitcoin as the logical evolution of corporate treasury assets in an increasingly digital world.
That said, the strategy appears to be working for Saylor’s company. Since implementing its Bitcoin-focused approach in August 2020, the Strategy’s stock has surged from approximately $12 to nearly $400 per share. Daily trading volume increased from $5 million to $5.9 billion, and options interest jumped from $1 million to over $96 billion.
Saylor also revealed Strategy raised $22.6 billion in 2024 and $10.1 billion year-to-date in 2025, suggesting strong investor appetite for Bitcoin-backed securities. He contrasted this capital influx with how other major corporations are “doing their best to get rid of their money” through stock buybacks and dividends.
Saylor’s BTC Pitch to Microsoft
Moreover, Saylor revealed he recently pitched Microsoft’s board of directors on adopting Bitcoin as a treasury asset. He argued that Microsoft has “surrendered $200 billion of capital” through buybacks and dividends over the past five years, effectively “snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.”
According to Saylor’s analysis, if Microsoft had redirected these funds to Bitcoin, it could have added “$1 trillion to $5 trillion to the enterprise value of the company” while simultaneously reducing risk exposure. His models suggested Microsoft could increase its ARR growth rate from 10% to nearly 16% through Bitcoin adoption.
“If you could buy a hundred billion dollar company growing 60% a year at one times revenue, and if it was more profitable than your own company, would you do it? Of course you would,” Saylor argued, framing Bitcoin as an asset that replaces “future expectations of cash flows” with tangible value.
Despite his pitch, Saylor noted that 99% of Microsoft shareholders voted against even studying the feasibility of Bitcoin treasury adoption, highlighting the resistance that remains among traditional corporate leadership.
“Courage is in much shorter supply than genius,” Saylor concluded, quoting investor Peter Thiel to underscore that while many corporate leaders intellectually understand Bitcoin’s potential, few demonstrate the boldness to act on that understanding.
