- Arkham traced 70,816 BTC worth $5.45B to Strategy, reigniting debate over Bitcoin privacy and third-party wallet attribution tools.
- Saylor warns public wallet disclosures pose major security risks as Arkham links most of Strategy’s BTC to identified addresses.
- Crypto users criticize Arkham for revealing Strategy’s wallets without consent, fueling concerns over privacy and on-chain exposure.
Arkham Intelligence has identified over 70,000 BTC—worth $5.45 billion—allegedly linked to Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy). This accounts for 87.5% of the company’s publicly disclosed holdings, including those custodied with Fidelity Digital. The revelation contradicts Michael Saylor’s long-standing refusal to disclose wallet addresses. Speaking at Bitcoin 2025, Saylor defended his position, warning that publicizing wallets creates an enormous attack surface for hackers and bad actors.
Besides identifying addresses, Arkham’s methodology raised eyebrows. The platform used forensic tools, deposit tracking, clustering patterns, and exchange monitoring to attribute these wallets. The data did not come from Strategy directly. This indirect tracing method has gained traction among investors and researchers looking for independent verification of on-chain reserves.
Tension Between Transparency and Security
However, the move sparked backlash from the crypto community. Critics on X blasted Arkham for allegedly violating Saylor’s privacy and increasing the company’s security risk. One user questioned if such action was ethical, arguing that unwanted exposure defeats Bitcoin’s core principle—privacy.
Moreover, others emphasized Saylor’s exact warning: public wallet disclosure invites trolls, hackers, and even nation-state attacks. The backlash reignited the debate between on-chain transparency and individual privacy. While address attribution builds market trust, it can simultaneously endanger holders of large sums.
Additionally, calls for proof-of-reserves grew after the FTX collapse in 2022. Exchanges like Binance introduced Merkle tree-based attestations to show solvency. Yet critics noted the limitations. Exchanges can game these snapshots, inflating reserves temporarily to appear more liquid.
Hence, while forensic tracking offers transparency, it risks misrepresenting intentions or compromising asset safety. Consequently, security experts urge caution before praising third-party audits that lack consent from the asset holders.
Political Voices Back Bitcoin
At the same conference, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump offered bold Bitcoin forecasts. Don Jr. sees BTC reaching between $150,000 and $175,000 by 2026. Eric added humor, predicting it could hit “the moon.” However, he also pointed to increasing demand and the asset’s capped supply as major bullish factors.
Both have backed crypto projects, including World Liberty Financial and a Bitcoin mining company. Their support reflects growing political momentum in Bitcoin’s favor. Moreover, as more high-profile wallets get tagged, the conflict between privacy and transparency will only intensify across blockchain.
