What if bitcoin was not a simple technological breakthrough, but the culmination of four centuries of capitalist evolution? In a powerful analysis shared on the networks, Michael Saylor shakes up the codes by retracing the long institutional genealogy which today allows a company like Strategy to make BTC a global reserve asset.
In brief
- The creation of the digital credit of bitcoin has its foundations as early as 1602, with the actions of the Dutch East India Company.
- Michael Saylor deciphers and links the volatility of bitcoin to the demands of traditional stock markets.
- The current financial system relies on centuries of stock market regulations and laws to integrate cryptos into the heart of institutional finance.
- Despite market ups and downs, Strategy, Strive and Metaplanet are accelerating the accumulation of BTC with new major acquisitions.
From 1602 to 2008, when capitalism paved the way for bitcoin
The appearance of bitcoin in 2008 redefined the notion of money. However, according to Michael Saylor, the financial machinery which today allows a company to massively integrate it into its balance sheet does not date from yesterday, but from 400 years ago. It is a direct continuation of the major stages of modern financial history.
Digital credit took four centuries to establish. Bitcoin arrived in 2008, but much of the financial infrastructure that allows a company to hold it as capital and issue income-producing securities is much older.
This vision demonstrates that the crypto ecosystem does not arise from nothing. A technological and conceptual heritage that recalls the founding intuition of pioneers like Hal Finney, whose famous message posted on X on January 11, 2009: “ Running bitcoin ”, laid the first foundations of the decentralized infrastructure that the institutional world is adopting today.
The 4 centuries of financial engineering at the service of bitcoin, according to Michael Saylor
To fully understand how Strategy manages to structure its financial products around bitcoin, Michael Saylor divides the history of finance into key milestones that can be summarized as follows:
| Era/Date | Historic financial innovation | Direct application for Bitcoin & Strategy |
| 1602 | Ordinary shares :East India Company (Amsterdam) | Separate the life of the company from that of investors: a firm can hold Bitcoin for the long term while its shares trade daily. |
| 1836 | Preferred shares :Financing the railway Baltimore & Ohio | Offer flexible investment priorities (regular income vs. growth), adapted to long-term assets. |
| 1792 – 1971 | Markets and Tickers :Buttonwood Accord and appearance of Nasdaq | Free yourself from physical trading floors to create a global, transparent and instantaneous price quotation. |
| 1933 – 1940 | Stock market laws :Securities Act And Investment Company Act | Formalize the legal boundary between the assets held (Bitcoin reserves) and the securities issued to shareholders. |
When history meets aggressive BTC accumulation in the market
In interweaving these historical pillars, Michael Saylor demonstrates that the bitcoin accumulation strategy carried out by his company is not an isolated speculative bet. But, the aggressive and surgical use of the best mechanisms of capitalism. This theory finds a direct and spectacular application in the field.
Despite the volatility and recent market turmoil, the institutional giants are not slowing down. Like Strategy and Strive, which recently consolidated their positions by capturing an additional 935 BTC, or Metaplanet which completed a new massive fundraising of $32 million to strengthen its reserve strategy.
By separating the risk of the reserve asset from the securities issued to shareholders, these companies bring the mathematical hardness of crypto into dialogue with the flexibility demanded by Wall Street. More than an alternative, bitcoin completes and absorbs the traditional financial system, for Michael Saylor. In your opinion, does this ownership of BTC by institutional investors not weaken Satoshi’s initial vision?
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