Michael Saylor, the co-founder of software firm MicroStrategy, is to sell $216 million worth of stock options in the company, with some of the proceeds going towards buying more Bitcoin for his personal stash.
The sale of his stock options was revealed in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), in which Saylor proposed to sell 310,000 stock option awards granted in 2014.
Speaking on MicroStrategy’s fourth-quarter earnings call, Saylor explained that, “I was granted a stock option in 2014 with respect to 400,000 shares, which is going to expire next April if I don’t exercise it by then.” He added that he plans to exercise and sell 5,000 shares each trading day, starting on January 2nd and ending on April 25th, “subject to a minimum price condition.”
Saylor said that, “Exercising this option will allow me to address some financial obligations as well as to acquire additional Bitcoin for my personal account.”
Michael Saylor and Bitcoin
The MicroStrategy co-founder and executive chairman is a vocal proponent of Bitcoin, having undergone a Damascene conversion since claiming that the cryptocurrency’s “days are numbered” in 2013. Since then, MicroStrategy has undergone a Bitcoin buying spree, acquiring 189,150 BTC, worth over $8.5 billion at today’s prices.
Saylor has also bought Bitcoin for his personal holdings, revealing in a 2020 tweet that he had acquired 17,732 BTC at an average purchase price of $9,882. Saylor retweeted his 2020 post in October 2021, stating that, “You do not sell your #bitcoin.”
At current prices, Saylor’s personal Bitcoin holdings are worth just over $800,000,000. Assuming it’s held in one address, Saylor’s personal Bitcoin holdings would place him among the top 103 Bitcoin addresses, per BitInfoCharts (with the caveat that Bitcoin can be held across multiple addressess by one individual).
Speaking during the conference call, Saylor said that he remains “optimistic” about MicroStrategy’s prospects, and will retain a “very significant” equity stake in the company. Buoyed by Bitcoin’s recent price surge above $45,000, MicroStrategy’s stock price rose to $691.74 in pre-market trading. In a December 31 tweet, Saylor celebrated MicroStrategy’s 2023 performance, noting that the company had been “empowered” by Bitcoin.
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