Michael Saylor Defends Elon Musk, Bitcoin Mining Council Against Centralization Criticisms He also railed against “uninformed parties”, and expressed a desire to control the narrative around Bitcoin’s environmental impact. In brief At a conference today, MicroStrategy CEO Michael Saylor spoke about the newly formed Bitcoin Mining Council. He claimed the council, which involves many prominent mining companies, is committed to decentralization—something critics see as a paradox. At CoinDesk's Consensus conference earlier today, Bitcoin evangelist Michael Saylor defended the newly formed Bitcoin Mining Council against criticisms that it runs counter to the “decentralized” spirit of Bitcoin. Saylor announced the council yesterday afternoon, after Tesla CEO Elon Musk tweeted about having met with “North American Bitcoin miners” about sustainability; Saylor described it as an “organization to standardize energy reporting, pursue industry ESG goals, & educate+grow the marketplace.”