Michael Saylor

Who Is Michael Saylor?

Michael Saylor is the co-founder and Executive Chairman of Strategy. For decades, he was primarily known for founding and leading Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy), one of the largest independent, publicly traded business intelligence companies in the world.

However, in 2020, Saylor became a prominent figure in the cryptocurrency industry after he began publicly promoting Bitcoin as a store of value and a hedge against inflation. He then pioneered the corporate Bitcoin treasury strategy, a move that has since been followed by other public companies and has fundamentally shifted his company’s primary focus.

Michael Saylor and Corporate Bitcoin Adoption

For most of its history, Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy) was a traditional enterprise software company. Its business model was centered on providing analytics and business intelligence software to large corporations. This changed dramatically in August 2020 when Saylor announced the company would begin allocating its cash reserves to Bitcoin, citing concerns about the long-term depreciation of fiat currency due to inflation.

This decision marked the beginning of a major strategic pivot. Under Saylor’s leadership, the company began to aggressively acquire Bitcoin, often using funds raised through debt and equity offerings. This established a public model for how other corporations could hold Bitcoin on their balance sheets.

The shift was so significant that in early 2025, the company officially rebranded from MicroStrategy to Strategy. The rebrand included a new logo with a stylized “B” and the company adopting orange as its primary brand color – both direct references to Bitcoin. The company now identifies itself as the “world’s first and largest Bitcoin Treasury Company.”

This pivot not only shifted institutional perceptions of Bitcoin but also established Saylor as one of the cryptocurrency’s most visible and vocal advocates. Strategy’s stock has become a popular proxy for investors seeking Bitcoin exposure through traditional markets, and Saylor’s frequent media appearances and the company’s frequent Bitcoin acquisitions have received regular coverage in financial news.