Crypto News: Michael Saylor to sell $216m in MicroStrategy shares for more Bitcoin

MicroStrategy's co-founder Michael Saylor is planning to sell his company's stocks worth almost $216 million in exchange for more Bitcoin. A portion of proceedings from the four-month process of selling MicroStrategy shares will be used to buy Bitcoins. According to Bloomberg, 315,000 shares were acquired via stock options. Additionally, Saylor is expected to sell nearly 400,000 shares up until April 26 this year.

Michael Saylor sells MicroStrategy stock in favour of Bitcoin

Saylor co-founded MicroStrategy in 1989 and turned it into the world's largest publicly traded holder of Bitcoin. On Tuesday, its shares closed at a little over $685 after a 372% surge last year. This is the highest value MSTR closed at since December 2021.

Saylor explained during MicroStrategy's fourth-quarter earnings call, “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.”

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Back in November 2023, Saylor revealed his plans to sell 5,000 shares each trading day, starting on January 2nd and ending on April 25th, “subject to a minimum price condition.” “Exercising this option will allow me to address personal obligations as well as acquire additional Bitcoin to my personal account,” Saylor added.

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MicroStrategy's Bitcoin holdings now worth over $8.5 billion

Last year, in December, MicroStrategy purchased an additional 14,620 Bitcoin for $615 million. This increased the company's total Bitcoin holdings to 189,150 Bitcoin, worth nearly $8.5 billion. Saylor announced his company's latest holdings in an X, formerly Twitter post dated December 27, 2023.

“MicroStrategy has acquired an additional 14,620 BTC for ~$615.7 million at an average price of $42,110 per #bitcoin. As of 12/26/23,@MicroStrategy now hodls 189,150 $BTC acquired for ~$5.9 billion at an average price of $31,168 per bitcoin. $MSTR,” Saylor wrote.