Michael Saylor, executive chairman of Strategy (MSTR), the largest publicly traded holder of Bitcoin, declared on X that the crypto winter is over as Bitcoin (BTC) traded above $78,000 — a price level first reached on April 22, according to CoinDesk data. Saylor’s firm recently added 13,927 BTC, bringing its total treasury holdings to 780,897 BTC. In a Game of Thrones-style image, Saylor, dressed in a fur coat and mounted on a horse, proclaimed “Winter’s over,” a statement that has drawn mixed reactions from crypto analysts.
Jason Fernandes, a market analyst and co-founder of AdLunam, disagreed, stating: “Even if the winter is over for bitcoin, which I don’t agree with, it is still very cold for altcoins.” Mati Greenspan, founder of Quantum Economics and former senior market analyst at eToro, argued that the recent market downturn does not qualify as a true crypto winter. He described it as “more of a large pullback within a broader bull market,” triggered by the October 10 “flash crash” that caused roughly $19 billion in forced liquidations within 24 hours. Greenspan agreed with Saylor’s underlying sentiment, saying, “Yes, I think it is very likely that we have seen the bottom.”
Greenspan and other experts interpret Saylor’s comments and Strategy’s ongoing Bitcoin purchases as signs of a transition into a more permanent institutional Bitcoin era — a cycle defined by corporate Bitcoin treasuries and shifting institutional sentiment. However, Greenspan emphasized that nation-state adoption is the next major driver: “Yes, increased institutional adoption will kick off this next leg, but what Saylor is missing is the nation-state adoption, which is undoubtedly right around the corner.” He noted that the crypto industry has experienced three adoption cycles — early adopters in 2013, mass retail in 2017, and institutional adoption in 2021 — and expects the fourth wave to come from sovereign entities.
Nation-state adoption is already materializing. Under U.S. President Donald Trump’s second term, the U.S. government plans a strategic Bitcoin reserve (though not yet formalized) and currently holds roughly 300,000 BTC. El Salvador continues its daily purchase program toward a 7,500 BTC treasury. China and the U.K. hold approximately 190,000 BTC and 61,000 BTC, respectively. Sub-sovereign entities such as Wisconsin and New Jersey have introduced Bitcoin exposure within public pension allocations.
