Michael Saylor, the Executive Chairman of Strategies (MSTR) and the largest publicly traded holder of Bitcoin, recently declared that the crypto winter has ended. He made this announcement on Thursday via X, noting Bitcoin has surpassed $78,000—its price from early morning on April 22, as reported by CoinDesk.
In an eye-catching post featuring a Game of Thrones-style image of him on horseback in a fur coat, Saylor revealed that his company added 13,927 bitcoins to its treasury, now totaling 780,897 BTC. However, not all experts are convinced by his assertion.
“Even if winter is over for Bitcoin, which I’m not sure I agree with, altcoins are still facing a chill,” commented Jason Fernandez, market analyst and co-founder of AdLunam.
Matty Greenspan, a former senior market analyst at eToro and founder of Quantum Economics, remarked that the recent turmoil since the October 10 flash crash—causing roughly $19 billion in forced liquidations—doesn’t even meet the threshold for a crypto winter.
“I’m not certain if we can label what just happened as a crypto winter; it seems more like a significant pullback in an ongoing bull market,” he said, adding that he does share Saylor’s sentiment regarding Bitcoin firmly bouncing back. “Yes, I think it’s very likely we have hit bottom,” he noted.
Greenspan along with other experts see Saylor’s remarks and the ongoing Bitcoin purchases by his company as indicative of a shift toward a more entrenched institutional involvement in Bitcoin, marking a new cycle defined by corporate influence in the Bitcoin and bond markets, along with shifts in institutional attitudes.
Adoption by Nation-States
Despite this institutional trend, Greenspan emphasizes that it’s just one piece of a larger puzzle. “Yes, increased institutional adoption will kick off this next phase, but what Mr. Saylor is overlooking is the impending adoption by nation-states,” he said.
Greenspan believes the cryptocurrency scene has gone through three distinct phases of adoption so far. It began with early adopters in 2013, followed by what he termed a “mass retailer awakening in 2017,” and then a more structured approach introduced in 2021.
“The fourth and final significant shift will come through nation-state adoption, and I expect that transition to happen rapidly, especially given the sudden policy changes during Donald Trump’s second term,” he suggested.
He went on to envision a future where central banks include Bitcoin on their balance sheets for price stability, similar to how they’ve historically treated gold. Greenspan points out that this isn’t just a theoretical notion anymore; it’s starting to take shape in government reports. For instance, under Trump, there were discussions about U.S. strategic Bitcoin reserves. Although nothing formal or operational is in place yet, the government reportedly already holds around 300,000 BTC. Meanwhile, El Salvador continues its daily purchases aiming for a total of 7,500 BTC, while China and the UK maintain around 190,000 BTC and 61,000 BTC, respectively. Even at state levels, places like Wisconsin and New Jersey are making strides to integrate Bitcoin into their public pension allocations.
