Michael Saylor, co-founder of MicroStrategy, was found to have sold a large amount of MicroStrategy stocks between January 2nd and 10th, earning over $20 million. This move seems to indicate his preparation to purchase more Bitcoin, ahead of the approval of a Bitcoin spot ETF by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
According to Bloomberg data, Michael Saylor sold a total of 3,882 to 5,000 shares of MicroStrategy stocks during this period, earning over $20 million. This is the first time in nearly 12 years that he has sold company stocks, and he plans to use the proceeds from these sales to invest in Bitcoin.
A spokesperson for MicroStrategy confirmed Michael Saylor’s aforementioned transactions but emphasized that these transactions were already disclosed in documents submitted to the SEC last year, and are part of Michael Saylor’s personal stock selling plan, unrelated to the recent approval of the Bitcoin spot ETF.
According to SEC documents, Michael Saylor will sell 315,000 shares of MicroStrategy stock between January 2nd, 2024, and April 26th, 2024. During this period, he will sell a maximum of 5,000 shares of MicroStrategy stock daily. These stocks are part of the stock options he received from the company in 2014.
Michael Saylor previously stated that a Bitcoin spot ETF could be the most significant development on Wall Street in the past 30 years. He believes this new tool will bring significant demand for Bitcoin, and combined with the supply impact of the Bitcoin halving event in April, it implies that Bitcoin will experience a bull market this year. However, he refuses to speculate on how high the price of Bitcoin will go.
MicroStrategy has been investing in Bitcoin since 2020, and according to Bitcointreasuries data, it has spent approximately $5.89 billion to buy Bitcoin. It currently holds 189,150 Bitcoins, with a current value surpassing $8.09 billion and a profit of $2.2 billion.
Due to the majority of MicroStrategy’s funds being invested in Bitcoin, MicroStrategy stocks were previously seen as a substitute for a Bitcoin spot ETF. However, with the approval of the Bitcoin spot ETF, MicroStrategy stocks have recently plummeted by over 24%, seemingly becoming the sacrifice after the success of the spot ETF. Nevertheless, Michael Saylor remains confident, emphasizing that MicroStrategy is a self-owned company that can increase its holdings using its cash flow or “intelligent leverage.” Unlike ETFs, holding MicroStrategy stocks does not incur management fees.