Michael Saylor Bitcoin Holdings: What Most People Get Wrong

Michael Saylor Bitcoin Holdings: What Most People Get Wrong

Michael Saylor doesn't just like Bitcoin. He's basically bet his entire professional legacy and a massive chunk of his personal net worth on it. It’s a bold move. Some call it genius, others call it a reckless gamble, but either way, the numbers are hard to ignore.

As of mid-January 2026, the scale of the Michael Saylor Bitcoin holdings is almost difficult to wrap your head around. We aren't just talking about a few thousand coins tucked away in a cold wallet. We’re talking about a corporate treasury that has effectively turned a software company into a Bitcoin proxy and a personal stash that puts most small nations to shame.

Honestly, the split between what he owns personally and what his company, Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy), holds is where most people get confused. They see a headline about a billion-dollar buy and assume it’s all Saylor’s money. It’s not. But the two are inextricably linked.

The Corporate Beast: Strategy’s 687,410 BTC

Let's look at the big one first. Strategy—the company Saylor founded and now leads as Executive Chairman—is the undisputed king of corporate Bitcoin. According to the latest 8-K filings from January 12, 2026, the company now holds 687,410 BTC.

Think about that.

There will only ever be 21 million Bitcoin. Saylor’s company owns more than 3% of the entire supply.

Between January 5 and January 11, 2026, they went on another shopping spree, picking up 13,627 BTC for about $1.25 billion. They paid an average price of roughly $91,519 per coin. This wasn't just "spare change" from the software side of the business. They funded this by selling MSTR stock and issuing perpetual preferred stock. It’s a machine.

The average cost for their entire stack? Somewhere around $75,353 per Bitcoin. With the current price hovering near $95,000, the company is sitting on paper gains of over $10 billion.

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Why the "Strategy" name change?

You might have noticed the company is often referred to simply as "Strategy" now. Late in 2025, the firm leaned so hard into its identity as a Bitcoin treasury that the old "MicroStrategy" name started to feel like a vestige of a different era. They still have the software business, sure, but it's increasingly viewed as the cash flow engine that fuels the Bitcoin acquisition at the heart of the firm.

Michael Saylor’s Personal Bitcoin Stash

While the corporate holdings are public record, Saylor’s personal holdings are a bit more of a "trust but verify" situation. In August 2024, Saylor went on Bloomberg and dropped a bit of a bombshell: he personally owns at least 17,732 BTC.

He’s been pretty vocal about not selling. "I haven't sold any bitcoin, I continue to acquire more," he said at the time.

If we assume he hasn't sold a single satoshi since then—which aligns with his "HODL forever" philosophy—his personal holdings are worth roughly $1.68 billion today.

  • Total personal BTC: ~17,732 (minimum)
  • Total corporate BTC: 687,410
  • Combined Influence: Over 705,000 BTC

It is a staggering amount of one asset for one person to influence.

The "42/42" Plan: The 2026 Outlook

What most people miss is that Saylor isn't done. Not even close.

The company is currently executing what they call the "42/42 Plan." The goal is to raise $42 billion in equity and $42 billion in debt over three years to buy even more Bitcoin. We are seeing the 2026 tranches of this plan play out in real-time. If they hit their targets, Strategy's stash could realistically push toward 1 million BTC by the end of next year.

It's a "flywheel" effect. When Bitcoin goes up, MSTR stock often goes up even faster because it trades at a premium to the Bitcoin it holds. They then sell more stock at that premium to buy more Bitcoin. It's basically a legal way to print Bitcoin-per-share for their investors.

Is there a breaking point?

Not everyone is a fan. Recently, analysts have pointed out the "mNAV" (market Net Asset Value) of the company. In late 2025, as the market cooled slightly, the stock actually traded at a discount to its Bitcoin holdings—meaning the market valued the whole company at less than the Bitcoin it owned.

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That’s a weird place to be.

Critics like Peter Schiff have long argued that this is a "house of cards" built on leverage. If Bitcoin were to have a sustained 50% or 80% crash, the interest payments on the billions in debt could become a massive problem. Saylor’s response? He usually just points to the "Orange or Green" tracker. He’s built a cash reserve of about $2.25 billion just to handle interest and dividends, specifically to survive a "crypto winter."

He’s prepared. Sorta.

Actionable Insights for Investors

If you’re tracking Michael Saylor’s Bitcoin moves, you shouldn't just look at the raw numbers. Look at the strategy.

1. Watch the BTC Yield.
Saylor doesn't care about the USD value as much as he cares about "Bitcoin per share." If the company is growing its BTC holdings faster than it's diluting shareholders, he considers it a win.

2. Pay attention to the "Green Dots."
In Saylor-speak, "orange dots" mean Bitcoin buys. "Green dots" mean they are adding to their USD cash reserves. In early 2026, he’s been doing both. This suggests a more defensive, mature posture than the "all-in" days of 2020.

3. Monitor the MSCI decision.
There’s been a huge debate about whether "Digital Asset Treasury" (DAT) companies like Strategy should be included in major stock indexes. If they get booted, expect a lot of forced selling from index funds. If they stay, it’s a massive stamp of institutional legitimacy.

4. Check the 8-K filings.
Don't trust Twitter rumors. Because Strategy is a public company, they have to file an 8-K with the SEC every single time they make a significant buy. These usually drop on Monday mornings.

Michael Saylor has turned himself into the human embodiment of the Bitcoin whitepaper. Whether you think he’s the smartest guy in the room or a total fanatic, he has fundamentally changed how corporations view their balance sheets. He isn't just holding Bitcoin; he's trying to reorganize the world's capital around it.

For anyone holding MSTR or BTC, the next few months of 2026 will be the real test of whether this "Infinite Money Glitch" can actually survive a choppy macro environment.