While the focus is usually on external threats, Michael Saylor, serial Bitcoin investor and founder of Strategy, believes the biggest risk comes from within: the developers themselves. According to him, their desire to innovate at all costs could weaken the network, by introducing involuntary vulnerabilities in the name of new functionalities, to the detriment of security rigor.
In brief
- Michael Saylor warns that the ambition of developers, if they favor the addition of new functions, can jeopardize the stability of the Bitcoin network.
- He asserts that protocol stability must take precedence over innovation.
The ambition of developers in the face of network stability
Saylor has been hammering home this message for several months, both in his interviews and on his X page. On January 24, he insisted again: opportunistic developers who push for protocol changes represent, according to him, the greatest threat to Bitcoin. This position has fueled a debate in the crypto community on the balance to maintain between innovation and security.
As early as last September, Saylor was already highlighting this risk: even the most competent and well-intentioned developers could, by seeking to improve the protocol, introduce systemic risks. In an interview the same month, he called for a conservative approach, advising developers to focus on network defense and its sustainability, rather than on non-essential protocol modifications.
Complex architecture of Bitcoin
Bitcoin is not just a digital currency; it serves several functions, including securely transferring value, maintaining shared records, and acting as a code-based infrastructure. Its design is based on several decades of cryptographic research, dating back to the 1950s, and has been refined by thousands of developers since its launch in 2009. Over time, these contributions have strengthened security and improved the user experience, with the introduction of human-readable recovery phrases, master keys that can generate multiple access credentials, as well as shared-control wallets offering discretion comparable to that of individual wallets.
Saylor's current criticism is about developers' priorities. He believes the focus should remain on protecting the network, rather than adding updates, even when they are well-intentioned. However, this position has attracted criticism. Bitcoin investor Fred Krueger notably designated quantum computing as a potentially greater risk, while Jameson Lopp, co-founder of CASA, highlighted the problem of centralization in key holding. He recalled that Saylor keeps more than 700,000 BTC with third parties, which could influence his perception of risks.
Despite this debate, Strategy has continued to expand its Bitcoin holdings, demonstrating its confidence in the long-term strength of the network. The company added 2,932 BTC to its portfolio for approximately $264.1 million, at an average price of around $90,061 per unit. As of January 25, 2026, Strategy held 712,647 BTC, acquired for a total amount of approximately $54.19 billion, at an average price of $76,037 per bitcoin.
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