Peter Thiel vs. Michael Saylor: Who Has the Smarter Crypto Treasury Strategy?

Updated

September 14, 2025

Gambar Peter Thiel vs. Michael Saylor: Who Has the Smarter Crypto Treasury Strategy?

Jakarta, Pintu News – Two big names in the investment world, Peter Thiel and Michael Saylor, are now in the spotlight for their different strategies in building cryptocurrency reserves for companies. Thiel focuses on the Ethereum ecosystem with an indirect approach, while Saylor chooses Bitcoin as the main asset held on the company’s balance sheet. This difference in philosophy and execution shows two equally ambitious ways of utilizing crypto as a long-term reserve.

Peter Thiel’s Strategy: Betting on Ethereum Through a Treasury Company

Peter Thiel, co-founder of PayPal and Palantir, leveraged his venture capital background to take large positions in companies that later transformed into “ETH-treasuries”. Instead of buying Ethereum (ETH) directly onto the balance sheet, Thiel invested in companies like ETHZilla and BitMine Immersion. Both companies are now large stores of ETH, with BitMine holding more than 1.52 million ETH (equivalent to around Rp108 trillion at an exchange rate of $1 = Rp16,4200).

ETHZilla, for example, announced $425 million in private investment to build an ETH treasury, as well as issuing $150 million ($2.46 trillion) in bonds. Meanwhile, BitMine continued to accumulate tokens, including an additional 373,000 ETH when the ETH price spiked again. With this move, Thiel not only enjoyed the potential rise in ETH price, but also the equity value of these companies.

Thiel’s approach is based on the view that ETH is “programmable capital”, the fuel for smart contracts, tokenization, and new financial infrastructure. By choosing the path of a treasury company, he ties his investments to the innovations evolving around the Ethereum ecosystem, which he believes provides more long-term options than Bitcoin’s store of value model.

Michael Saylor’s Strategy: Building a Bitcoin Stronghold

michael saylor bitcoin — Source: Business2Community

Michael Saylor, Executive Chairman of Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy), has become an icon of corporate adoption of Bitcoin (BTC). Since 2020, the software company has transformed itself into the world’s largest BTC treasury. Saylor adopted a simple yet aggressive strategy: consistently accumulate BTC using the proceeds of issuing shares, convertible bonds, or preferred stock.

According to BitcoinTreasuries.net data, as of August 2025 Strategy held around 629,000 BTC, or nearly 64% of all public Bitcoin reserves. In fact, in August 2025 alone, the company purchased more than 585 BTC worth $69 million (approximately Rp1.13 trillion) to celebrate five years of Bitcoin adoption. Saylor capitalized on market volatility with a measured buying strategy, making BTC a key pillar of the company’s balance sheet strength.

This approach is known to be transparent and mechanized. By utilizing an OTC desk for large purchases, the company avoids price shocks that could unsettle the market. As a result, treasury Strategy serves as an example of how long-term BTC accumulation can be managed with a disciplined financing framework.

Philosophy and Risk Comparison

Despite both using crypto as a treasury instrument, Thiel and Saylor are eyeing the opportunity in very different ways. Saylor focuses on stability and predictability, building Bitcoin reserves with a near-automated rhythm. This model gives investors and the market confidence because of its scale and transparency.

Thiel, on the other hand, is more flexible and opportunistic. He favors undervalued companies and then turns them into ETH holders. In this way, he not only pursues ETH price increases, but also increases the valuation of these companies. However, this flexibility also comes with greater risk, as success depends on management governance and execution.

Liquidity is also a differentiator. Saylor’s BTC is locked on the company’s balance sheet and can only be released through future asset sales. Thiel, on the other hand, can expand or unwind his exposure by changing equity positions in ETH treasury companies, making his strategy more dynamic yet more vulnerable to changes in corporate valuations.

Conclusion

The debate over who has the smarter crypto treasury strategy ultimately comes down to goals and risk tolerance. Michael Saylor excels at building large Bitcoin reserves with transparent and consistent methods, ideal for stable long-term growth. Peter Thiel, on the other hand, utilizes strategic agility to capture higher upside potential through ETH holding companies, albeit with added risk.

Both have made a huge impact on the way companies view cryptocurrency as a reserve asset. Saylor created a precedent for large-scale BTC accumulation, while Thiel paved the way for companies that made ETH the center of their business models. In an ever-changing world, these two strategies show that there is no one single path to capitalizing on opportunities in the crypto market.

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