Michael Saylor to Liquidate $216M in MicroStrategy Stock Options

• MicroStrategy Executive Chairman Begins to Sell Company Stock Options
• Sale of 310,000 Stock Option Awards
• Saylor's Plan after the Sale
• MicroStrategy and Bitcoin
• The Future of Bitcoin

MicroStrategy Executive Chairman Begins to Sell Company Stock Options

Michael Saylor, the executive chairman of MicroStrategy (MSTR), initiated the sale of $216 million worth of the company's stock options on Tuesday. This information is drawn from a recent filing submitted to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Sale of 310,000 Stock Option Awards

The filing reveals Saylor's plans to sell 310,000 stock option awards, originally granted in 2014, set to expire in April. During MicroStrategy's third quarter earnings call, Saylor announced his decision to sell 5,000 shares per trading day over the subsequent four months, given certain minimum price conditions are met. This information was initially disclosed in the quarter's 10-Q filing, which indicated that he has the liberty to sell up to 400,000 shares of his vested options through April 26.

Saylor's Plan after the Sale

According to Saylor, the earnings from the sale will be channeled towards personal obligations and the acquisition of additional bitcoin (BTC) for his personal account. Despite this, he remains bullish about MicroStrategy's prospects and emphasizes that his equity stake in the company will still be significant even after these sales.

MicroStrategy and Bitcoin

MicroStrategy is currently the largest corporate holder of bitcoin with approximately 189,000 BTC in its treasury following the most recent purchase in December. The value of these holdings amounts to approximately $8.5 billion based on current prices. Despite a market-wide dip in cryptocurrency-focused stocks, MicroStrategy's shares experienced an 8.5% hike on Tuesday.

The Future of Bitcoin

Bitcoin$42,260 -0.64%'s price has seen an upward trend in recent months and is trading around $45,000 at the time of writing. Market participants are anticipating an approval for a spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) from the SEC in the near future. This anticipated approval would potentially increase the exposure of both retail and institutional investors to the asset.

Edited by Jonathan Stoker