MicroStrategy CEO Sells $11.1M in Shares as Saylor Backs Bitcoin

MicroStrategy Chief Executive Phong Le filed to sell 93,738 shares of MSTR on June 5 at a weighted average price near $118.73, producing roughly $11.1 million in proceeds, according to a company filing.

The sale covered taxes on 190,740 performance stock units that vested on June 3. Those units paid out at 200% after MicroStrategy’s three-year total return ranked in the top quartile of the Nasdaq Composite. Le retained 119,925 shares. The trades were executed under a Rule 10b5-1 plan established in May 2024.

The share sale coincided with a brief decline in the price of bitcoin below $60,000 and a rebound to just above that level when founder Michael Saylor posted remarks defending bitcoin’s long-term case. Saylor wrote: “The AI buildout is absorbing capital at historic scale, creating temporary pressure across global markets. That does not weaken Bitcoin. It strengthens the case for scarce, liquid, digital capital. Bitcoin remains the premier asset for the long term.”

Some investors noted the timing because MicroStrategy is commonly used by shareholders as a leveraged way to gain exposure to bitcoin. The company holds a significant bitcoin treasury and earlier sold 32 BTC to fund a shareholder dividend, its first bitcoin sale since 2022.

Analyst Ted Pillows called the timing “Not a good time to do this.”

Company disclosures state the stock sales were automatic under the 10b5-1 plan and that the proceeds were used to satisfy tax obligations tied to the vested performance awards.

The recent vesting, tax payment and stock sale renewed attention to corporate governance, liquidity and the relationship between executive compensation and shareholder expectations as bitcoin and related equities moved through a volatile period.