Economist compares Michael Saylor to 'conman' Bankman-Fried

Michael Saylor, the founder and executive chairman of the software enterprise-turned-Bitcoin (BTC) treasury company MicroStrategy (NASDAQ: MSTR) is facing severe attacks from different quarters.

Founded in 1989, MicroStrategy—later rebranded to Strategy—began accumulating Bitcoin in 2020 and even the ongoing crypto market crash hasn't deterred the company from purchasing BTC.

In fact, it has doubled down on the long-running acquisition operations and bought 10,624 BTC last week despite the threat of being excluded from the Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) index.

In a recent letter, Strategy referred to the MSCI's proposal to exclude companies with balance sheets consisting of more than 50% digital assets as "misguided," "discriminatory," "arbitrary," and "unworkable."

With 660,624 BTC in its stack, Strategy is the world's largest corporate Bitcoin treasury company.

Related: MicroStrategy sends sharp warning letter to MSCI

Saylor amplifies Bitcoin pitch

During a keynote address at the Bitcoin MENA conference on Dec. 9, Saylor further amplified his Bitcoin pitch and said the company is going to buy all of it.

“Bitcoin is digital capital.”

The billionaire tech tycoon characterized Bitcoin as the foundation of a new era in digital capital and credit.

Leading U.S. banks, including Bank of America, Wells Fargo, JP Morgan, and Citi, which earlier viewed Bitcoin with suspicion, are now embracing the digital asset, he underlined.

The U.S. administration, including its regulatory arms, has also come out in open support of Bitcoin, he added.

Bitcoin is a yield-generating credit vehicle and can even become the foundation of a digital credit system in the future, similar to how gold has been functioning as the foundation of credit instruments for centuries now, Saylor argued.

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Schiff calls Saylor 'bigger conman' than Bankman-Fried

However, not everyone is convinced of Saylor's vision.

Economist and hedge fund manager Peter Schiff slammed Saylor as a "bigger conman" than Sam Bankman-Fried "SBF," the disgraced founder and former CEO of the bankrupt crypto exchange FTX.

I don’t think I’ve ever heard so much bullshit in such a short period of time. Saylor is a bigger conman than SBF. The fact that the crypto community can’t see such an obvious fraud is the biggest indictment of the entire industry. It also proves we should abolish the SEC.

— Peter Schiff (@PeterSchiff) December 11, 2025

Bankman-Fried founded FTX in 2019 and turned it into the world's third-largest crypto exchange in terms of trading volume at its peak in July 2021. However, the company was found to be committing financial fraud and was forced to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in November 2022.

In November 2023, a court convicted Bankman-Fried of seven counts of fraud, including fraud, conspiracy, and money laundering. In March 2024, it sentenced him to 25 years in prison and ordered him to forfeit over $11 billion.

Schiff is a noted Bitcoin skeptic and a gold bull who has sharply criticized Saylor previously.

Reacting to the Bitcoin evangelist's keynote address, the Euro Pacific Asset Management co-founder said he had never heard so much "b*llsh*t" in such a short period of time.

"The fact that the crypto community can’t see such an obvious fraud is the biggest indictment of the entire industry."

In the same breath, he called for the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to be abolished.

At the time of writing, Bitcoin was trading at $90,038.24, down 2% in the last 24 hours.

The MSTR stock, meanwhile, fell 2.30% to close at $184.64 on Dec. 10.

TheStreet Roundtable reached out to Strategy for a comment on Schiff's X post and has not received a response so far. We will update the story if and when the company responds.

Related: After CZ’s pardon, could Sam Bankman-Fried be next?