Looking back at 2025: Bitcoin adoption marks a historic turning point, Strategy accelerates preparations for the digital lending market

Michael Saylor, founder and chairman of MicroStrategy, appeared on the “What Bitcoin Did” podcast and characterized 2025 as the “Year of Institutional Victory in Bitcoin.” He emphasized that the true achievements of that year are not short-term price fluctuations but fundamental infrastructure developments such as the revival of insurance coverage, changes in accounting standards, and the integration of the banking system.

Expansion of Institutional Adoption and Its Significance: Reaching 200 Corporate Holders

The most significant change worth reflecting on in 2025 is the rapid expansion of corporate Bitcoin adoption. While in 2024, approximately 30 to 60 companies held Bitcoin on their balance sheets, projections indicate that by the end of 2025, this number will reach around 200.

From a fundamental perspective, this increase in the number of adopters signifies that Bitcoin is beginning to be recognized by institutional investors and corporate management as a “universal capital of the digital age.” Saylor compares this phenomenon to power infrastructure: just as factories holding electricity is a rational decision to improve productivity, corporate holdings of Bitcoin are not speculative but part of asset management.

Regarding criticisms of companies holding Bitcoin, it is pointed out that “the issue is not Bitcoin purchases but ongoing operational losses.” Even for loss-making companies, holding several million dollars worth of Bitcoin on their balance sheets and generating tens of millions of dollars in capital gains should be justified as a sound management decision.

Integration into the Banking System: Full-Scale Deployment of Bitcoin-Backed Lending

The revival of insurance coverage symbolizes a structural change in 2025. Reflecting on Saylor’s own experience of being denied insurance when purchasing Bitcoin in 2020, this revival indicates the establishment of institutional confidence. At that time, despite holding hundreds of billions of dollars in corporate assets, there was no insurance mechanism, forcing reliance on personal assets for coverage. In just five years, the industry standards have reversed.

More importantly, major US banks have begun to fully implement Bitcoin-backed lending. At the start of the year, it was impossible to obtain loans secured by $1 billion worth of Bitcoin, but by the end of the year, nearly all major banks had started offering loans collateralized by IBIT (Bitcoin spot ETF), and about a quarter of banks announced Bitcoin itself as collateral for lending programs.

By early 2026, it is also noted that JPMorgan Chase and Morgan Stanley are in discussions regarding Bitcoin trading and settlement systems. The US Department of the Treasury has issued positive guidance on integrating cryptocurrencies into bank balance sheets, and both the CFTC Chairman and SEC Chairman have expressed support. The commercialization of Bitcoin derivatives markets on CME is also underway.

Furthermore, a tax-free physical exchange mechanism between Bitcoin worth $1 million and an equivalent amount of IBIT has been introduced, significantly improving market participants’ convenience.

The Importance of a Long-Term Perspective: Investment Philosophy Beyond Short-Term Price Predictions

The podcast strongly argued that “short-term price predictions are meaningless.” Despite Bitcoin reaching an all-time high 95 days ago, the emergence of pessimism based on short-term price fluctuations reflects a lack of an investment philosophy.

According to Saylor, throughout the past 10,000 years of history, people dedicated to something are typically evaluated over a 10-year timeline. Many only succeed after spending 10 or 20 years. If the true goal is the commercialization of Bitcoin, then evaluation should be based on a 4-year moving average rather than short-term performance over 100 days or 10 months.

In fact, analyzing price patterns over four-year cycles shows that Bitcoin tends to be quite bullish. Predicting price movements in 2026 at 90 days or 180 days ahead is considered a deviation from fundamental valuation.

Company Size and Market Potential: From 200 Companies to Millions

Regarding concerns about whether the market can support 200 companies holding Bitcoin, a counterargument is that “there are 400 million companies worldwide, so why limit adoption to 200?”

For example, if a certain company incurs a $10 million annual loss but holds $100 million worth of Bitcoin and generates $30 million in capital gains, what is there to criticize? The issue is not companies purchasing Bitcoin but how many companies can leverage Bitcoin investments and how much the market can expand.

Within the Bitcoin community, opinions differ, but some argue that the support base is 99%, with only 1% opposed. The focus should not be on criticizing rational companies but on the potential for overall market expansion.

Strategy’s Vision: Building a Digital Credit Market

Strategy aims to build a “digital credit” market rather than a banking business, and this sector is believed to have enormous potential. The product concept, STRC (Strategy Deferred Digital Credit), envisions an ideal listed product with a 10% dividend yield and a V value of 1–2.

If the US Treasury bond market captures 10%, the potential market size could reach $10 trillion. If the true goal is transforming the global currency system, banking system, and credit markets, entering the Bitcoin-collateralized lending market could serve as an entry point for related businesses such as exchanges, insurance, and derivatives backed by Bitcoin.

Currently, there are no insurance companies worldwide utilizing Bitcoin as collateral or capital, making this a huge opportunity for market development.

Dollar Reserve Strategy to Strengthen Creditworthiness

Strategy’s reason for holding dollar reserves is to enhance the creditworthiness from the perspective of corporate credit investors and improve the attractiveness of issued products. While equity investors may prefer increased Bitcoin holdings and volatility, credit investors seek the most stable assets. Holding dollar reserves is an excellent way to reinforce creditworthiness for becoming a major player in the digital lending market.

Fundamentally, corporate value should be based on business operations, and how that intrinsic value is created is crucial. The investment philosophy should not be swayed by short-term fluctuations in P/B ratios but should focus on the long-term potential for business expansion.

Reinterpreting 2025 Achievements

Looking back at 2025, the most important perspective is to see it as “the year of institutionalization.” The core changes are not about price levels but include: the revival of insurance coverage, the adoption of fair value accounting, resolution of unrealized capital gains tax issues, official recognition of Bitcoin as a digital product by governments, accelerated integration into the banking system, and market infrastructure maturation.

These changes suggest that Bitcoin is gradually transitioning from a speculative asset to a regulated asset. Strategy’s digital credit concept could become a pioneering example of new business opportunities built on this institutional foundation.