Arkham Intelligence is under fire as it continues to reveal what it claims is 97% of Michael Saylor and MicroStrategy’s Bitcoin holdings.
The exposé has sparked concerns regarding centralization, operational risk, and market collapse, given Saylor’s significant influence in the crypto market.
Arkham is facing criticism for disclosing Strategy’s Bitcoin wallets
On Thursday, May 29, Protechbro disclosed Arkham’s initial discovery, which associated 70,816 BTC tokens with MicroStrategy (now Strategy). This discovery contravened the confidentiality policy of Strategy’s executive chair, Michael Saylor.
“The current conventional way to publish proof-of-reserves is an insecure proof-of-reserves. No institutional-grade or enterprise security analyst would think that publishing wallets is a great idea,” Saylor argued.
The blockchain analytics firm has continued to disclose additional information, increasing its discovery from 87.5% to 97% of all Strategy’s Bitcoin holdings, despite the varied reactions to the exposé.
Arkham Intelligence has identified an additional 53,833 BTC, which is estimated to be worth $5.75 billion. This increases their coverage of Saylor’s Bitcoin holdings to $59.92 billion.
According to the blockchain expert, the endeavor is a component of a movement toward public and free proof of reserves (PoR).
However, despite Arkham’s celebration of its transparency milestone, which involved the first public identification of these holdings, numerous individuals in the crypto industry regard it as a perilous violation of privacy.
Is Michael Saylor and Strategy A Single Point of Failure?
In particular, industry representatives are apprehensive about the potential repercussions of disclosing a significant number of Bitcoin holdings associated with a single entity. This is particularly accurate in light of Michael Saylor’s substantial influence in the cryptocurrency market.
“If they ever move that BTC from the wallets, expect a market collapse. We just discovered a new point of failure,” warned Markus, a crypto nomad and Bitcoin veteran, in a post.
Other individuals expressed similar apprehensions regarding the potential for doxxing. One of them is MadPunk, a meme coin trader who has reiterated his concerns regarding a potential market downturn.
“You thinking you’re doing something great cool work after doxxing his secret wallets, if he ever tried to sell a bitcoin. The whole market will crash,” the trader wrote.
The revelation has incited a heated debate regarding the balance between the influence of market actors, operational security, and transparency. Some individuals believe that public blockchain data should be utilized to ensure accountability in an era of unverified corporate claims.
“For people asking why Arkham would do this… did you forget why the 2009 crash happened? Have you heard of paper gold and paper bitcoin? Do you know that companies lie to get fame and money? If you boast about buying 60 billion worth of bitcoin… show the receipts,” The Modern Investor, a popular user on X, remarked.
In the interim, some argue that the censorship resistance and personal sovereignty ethos of Bitcoin are undermined by the disclosure of a prominent individual’s holdings.
The prevailing opinion is that this threatens the broader market, as Strategy controls a significant portion of Bitcoin’s circulating supply.
Saylor has consistently maintained that Bitcoin is the ultimate asset, to the extent that he famously converted MicroStrategy’s cash reserves and raised debt to acquire BTC.
“The only thing better than Bitcoin is More Bitcoin,” Saylor wrote in a post.
Nevertheless, analysts suggest that Michael Saylor may be confined because most of his wallets have been revealed. In the interim, some maintain that the Bitcoin maxi may not intend to resell BTC.
“Lol, Saylor doesn’t want to sell. He’s already holding the apex asset. Sell for what? He sold Fiat for Bitcoin. Would you sell USD for Indian rupees? The answer is no, selling BTC for USD is the same thing,” chimed Josef Rakich, another popular user on X (Twitter).
Nevertheless, issues are intensifying. Markets may interpret any of these wallets that exhibit outbound activity as a liquidation signal, which could result in a state of hysteria.
Bad actors could also directly target Saylor or Strategy due to the significant concentration of holdings now publicly linked to traceable addresses. This is in line with precedent, as the United States is the leading country in the number of crypto kidnapping cases, and the number of crypto offenses in France is rising.
Arkham’s campaign has underscored the fragility of market psychology in the blockchain arena as it challenges the limits of crypto’s transparency culture. Saylor’s BTC, previously a symbol of conviction, is now a global risk variable.