MicroStrategy
(MSTR)
executive
chairman
Michael
Saylor
began
to
sell
$216
million
worth
of
stock
options
of
the
company
on
Tuesday,
according
to
a
regulatory
filing
with
the
U.S.
Securities
and
Exchange
Commission.
The
document
shows
that
Saylor
proposed
the
sale
of
310,000
stock
option
awards
granted
in
2014,
which
will
expire
in
April.
Saylor
said
during
Microstrategy’s
third
quarter
earnings
call
that
he
plans
to
sell
5,000
shares
per
trading
day
over
the
course
of
the
next
four
months,
subject
to
a
minimum
price
condition.
This
was
first
disclosed
in
that
quarter’s
10-Q
filing,
which
said
he
can
sell
up
to
400,000
shares
of
his
vested
options
through
April
26.
“Exercising
this
option
will
allow
me
to
address
personal
obligations
as
well
as
acquire
additional
bitcoin
(BTC)
to
my
personal
account,”
Saylor
said
during
the
call.
“…
I
continue
to
be
optimistic
about
MicroStrategy’s
prospects
and
should
note
that
my
equity
stake
in
the
company
after
these
sales
will
remain
very
significant.”
MicroStrategy
is
the
largest
corporate
holder
of
bitcoin
with
some
189,000
BTC
in
its
treasury
after
the
latest
purchase
in
December,
worth
some
$8,5
billion
at
current
prices.
Shares
of
MicroStrategy
gained
8.5%
Tuesday,
defying
a
market-wide
slump
of
cryptocurrency-focused
stocks.
Bitcoin’s
price
has
risen
over
recent
months,
trading
around
$45,000
as
of
press
time
(midnight
UTC).
Market
participants
expect
a
spot
bitcoin
exchange-traded
fund
(ETF)
approval
from
the
U.S.
Securities
and
Exchange
Commission
in
the
coming
weeks,
which
would
increase
potential
exposure
to
the
asset
from
retail
and
institutional
investors.
