Burning bitcoin is a bullish contribution for everyone who holds the currency. Like Satoshi Nakamoto, Michael Saylor’s bitcoins could sit unsold. Statements by Michael Saylor are being recirculated that suggest that he will burn the keys to his bitcoin (BTC) wallets before he dies. This is so that his holdings are not sold and contribute to the upward trend of the currency, like a kind of «second Satoshi Nakamoto.» Well, the 1.09 million BTC attributed to Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudonym of the anonymous creator of Bitcoin, has remained immobile since his disappearance after launching the coin in 2009. This is about 5% of the total supply of the asset. Many are sharing old Saylor interviews these days as if they were new. And they highlight that in them he announced that, when he dies, he will burn (leave without the possibility of use) his bitcoin. However, it is crucial to note that, in addition to not being recent, it did not guarantee that it will do that, although yes he left open the possibility. The confusion comes from multiple interviews. One dates back to two years ago, at the end of 2024, when he recalled that John Rockefeller donated money to many causes and, a hundred years after his death, was criticized for something that one of his foundations is doing today. In that sense, he maintained that you have to be careful with great philanthropy, something to consider for bitcoiners: «If you accumulate a lot of wealth in bitcoin and burn the keys when you leave, you are making a proportional contribution to everyone who owns bitcoin in the world.» «I think you have to take the bitcoins with you (…). I hope to be remembered for having taken up Satoshi’s torch and continuing to trade bitcoin with corporations and governments, decades after he passed away,» he emphasized.
Burn the keys and replicate Satoshi’s gesture
Later, in another interview conducted 9 months ago, in March 2025, Saylor insisted on his idea: «If you leave your money to a foundation, a hundred years after your death they will spend it on something you would not have liked. It will be corrupted, right? That’s obvious. So how about decentralized charity? Simply leave your money to humanity and to all those who believe in the same thing as me.
I believe in Satoshi and his vision: sovereignty, property rights, freedom, economic empowerment, economic immortality. I think no one should be able to steal your money. I think you should be able to keep it. And if I believe in that and burn those keys, then I will have made everyone on the network richer and more powerful forever. And they will have the option to do the same. Michael Saylor, president of Strategy.
The founder of Strategy, the company with the most bitcoin in the world, then highlighted that anyone has the option of joining the network with one dollar, one hundred dollars, one million, one billion or one trillion. «Everyone can participate and we are all in this together, from now until eternity,» he said. «That is my legacy,» added the businessman, to which He was asked in the interview if he would burn all his bitcoin. «I think I just answered that question in the most responsible way anyone could answer it,» he replied, ending the topic.
Without children or a partner, Saylor’s inheritance would go to bitcoiners
With his forceful messages, Saylor showed that he could be «the second Satoshi Nakamoto» by burning his bitcoin when he disappears. Although it is worth clarifying that it is unknown if the creator of Bitcoin died or if someone knows the keys to his wallets and could move them one day. Furthermore, Nakamoto’s reasons for holding those bitcoins still were never expressed in terms of ‘burning’ them and his gesture can be interpreted in many ways. Anyway, Just because Saylor wants to burn his bitcoin doesn’t mean he will actually do it.. In fact, he himself has not assured that he will do so, but rather that this tactic seems to him to be a good way to contribute to the market. Still, considering that he does not have children or a formal partner, it would not be surprising if the founder of Strategy decided to make this maneuver, leaving his inheritance immobilized. The businessman dedicates his life to spreading the importance of bitcoin in the world, so burning his keys would be a way to continue his work. «I’m single, I don’t have children, when I’m gone, I’ll be gone. Just as Satoshi left a million bitcoins to the universe, I am leaving whatever I have to civilization,” he himself commented in another interview two years ago. It is crucial to note that if Saylor burns his bitcoin, it will be his own, not Strategy’s. The company’s BTC balance depends on the decisions of the shareholders, as reported by BitcoinDynamic. It is unknown how much the businessman accumulates in the currency. In October 2020, Saylor revealed that he had 17,732 BTC. He then clarified that he had never sold the coins he bought. And, at the moment, he did not report whether he maintains that amount or has acquired more. In this sense, there is no certainty about the impact that burning bitcoin would have on the price of the asset. Whatever it is, achieving it will contribute to the rise of bitcoin, as it means less potential selling pressure.
