Saylor Pushes Nations Toward Bitcoin Backed Digital Banking

At Bitcoin MENA, Saylor argued that current bank yields are so poor that investors are pushed into riskier corporate bonds, while properly structured Bitcoin-collateralized products could offer superior returns with reduced volatility. At the same time, Saylor’s company Strategy continued to expand its Bitcoin treasury after buying another $962.7 million worth of BTC even as its stock price fell more than 50% on the year. Despite market skepticism and concerns over liquidity risks in Bitcoin-based financial instruments, Strategy still maintains that its balance sheet is secure after raising $1.44 billion to reassure investors.

Bitcoin Banking Could Attract Massive Capital

Michael Saylor, CEO of the world’s largest Bitcoin-holding corporation, is urging nation-states to rethink their financial systems by building Bitcoin-backed digital banking products capable of drawing trillions in global capital. At the Bitcoin MENA conference in Abu Dhabi, Saylor argued that countries are missing a historic opportunity to offer high-yield, low-volatility digital accounts by leveraging overcollateralized Bitcoin reserves and tokenized credit instruments. 

These products, he said, could dramatically outperform the near-zero yields offered by traditional bank deposits in regions like Japan, Switzerland, and much of Europe. Even euro money-market funds deliver only around 150 basis points, while US money-market products hover near 400 basis points. Saylor believes that this yield stagnation forces investors into corporate bonds “that wouldn’t exist if people weren’t so disgusted with their bank account.”

He described a digital banking structure in which roughly 80% of a fund consists of digital credit instruments, supported by 20% fiat currency and an additional 10% buffer to smooth volatility. With Bitcoin reserves overcollateralized at a 5:1 ratio and held by a treasury entity, such products could theoretically offer attractive returns while staying stable enough to operate in regulated banking systems. Saylor claimed that any country adopting this model could attract between $20 trillion and $50 trillion in deposits, and could turn into  “the digital banking capital of the world.”

His proposed banking model  is similar to the structure of Strategy’s own STRC instrument, which was introduced in July as a money-market-style preferred share with a variable dividend around 10% and a design intended to keep its price near par. STRC has grown to roughly $2.9 billion in market cap, but critics are still wary of Bitcoin’s inherent volatility. 

BTC’s price action over the past year (Source: CoinMarketCap)

At around $90,010, Bitcoin is trading almost 30% below its October all-time high, and despite long-term gains of more than 1,100% over five years, its short-term swings still fuel skepticism. Former Salomon Brothers trader Josh Man argued that Bitcoin-backed high-yield products could face severe liquidity stress, and warned that raising rates to defend a peg may fail “when depositors want to get their money back out.”

Strategy Keeps Buying Bitcoin

Meanwhile, Michael Saylor’s Strategy expanded its already massive Bitcoin treasury by accumulating close to $1 billion worth of BTC even as inflows into digital asset treasuries slow and the company’s own stock faces steep declines. Saylor announced that Strategy bought 10,624 BTC for roughly $962.7 million at an average price of $90,615 per coin, bringing the firm’s total holdings to 660,624 BTC. 

Despite the downturn in Strategy’s share price, which fell 51% over the past year, the company is still in a strong unrealized profit position. Data from BitcoinTreasuries.NET estimates the value of Strategy’s holdings close to $60 billion, placing the firm more than 22% above its aggregate cost basis.

Saylor continues to pitch Bitcoin as a transformative form of “digital capital,” a message he has been placing a lot of emphasis on during meetings with sovereign wealth funds, banks, family offices, and large-scale investors. He argues that Bitcoin now functions as digital gold and that a new category of “digital credit” can draw yield from this capital while reducing volatility. 

Despite concerns around the company’s ability to maintain obligations during major equity declines, Strategy repeatedly signaled confidence in its financial strength. CEO Phong Le recently pointed out that the firm raised $1.44 billion to counter market fear and ensure it could service debts and dividend commitments, pushing back against what he described as circulating FUD that encouraged short positions against Bitcoin.

The company’s aggressive accumulation strategy contrasts with market trends. Digital asset treasuries saw their slowest month of inflows in November, and DefiLlama data showed that only $1.32 billion entered DAT products. This was a 34% decline from October. Despite this, Bitcoin-focused treasuries stayed dominant, bolstered by Strategy’s $835 million purchase on Nov. 17, while Ethereum-focused treasuries recorded $37 million in outflows.