Michael Saylor Initiates $216 Million MicroStrategy Share Sale to Fund Personal Bitcoin Investment

Michael Saylor, the Executive Chairman of MicroStrategy, has initiated the process of selling $216 million worth of company shares, as detailed in a recent filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. This sale involves approximately 310,000 shares, which were originally granted as stock options in 2014, with an expiry in April 2024.

Saylor had previously announced these plans during MicroStrategy’s third-quarter earnings call, revealing his intention to sell about 5,000 shares daily starting from January 2, 2024, over a four-month period, contingent on a specified minimum price. This move could see him selling up to 400,000 of his vested options by April 26, 2024, as per the quarter’s 10-Q filing.

The rationale behind this sale, as stated by Saylor, is to fulfill personal financial obligations and to purchase more Bitcoin for his personal account. Despite these sales, he emphasized his ongoing confidence in MicroStrategy and noted that his remaining equity stake in the company would still be substantial.

MicroStrategy holds the distinction of being the largest corporate Bitcoin holder, with about 189,000 BTC in its treasury. This holding, valued at approximately $8.5 billion at current prices, was bolstered by a recent purchase in December. Interestingly, on the day of the share sale announcement, MicroStrategy’s stock rose by 8.5%, an anomaly in the generally declining trend of cryptocurrency-focused stocks.

The cryptocurrency market is currently observing a significant rise in Bitcoin’s value, trading around $45,000. There is also anticipation in the market about the potential approval of a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which could further increase Bitcoin’s accessibility to both retail and institutional investors.