MicroStrategy CEO Michael Saylor to step down, become exec chair

Amid mounting losses from its multibillion-dollar bitcoin investments, MicroStrategy Inc. CEO and founder Michael Saylor is stepping down from his current role and will take on the position of executive chairman, the Tysons-based technology company announced Tuesday.

The move is effective Aug. 8. MicroStrategy President Phong Le will also become the company’s new CEO, as well as a member of its board of directors. As executive chairman, Saylor will focus on innovation and long-term corporate strategy, while continuing to provide oversight of the company’s bitcoin acquisitions, the company said in a news release. MicroStrategy appointed a new chief financial officer, Andrew Kang, in May.

According to the news release, Le “has successfully led the transition of the software business to the cloud, driven growth in enterprise and embedded analytics, and led the implementation of the company’s pioneering bitcoin acquisition strategy.”

A publicly traded analytics and software firm, MicroStrategy is best known as the largest corporate holder of bitcoin, having invested nearly $4 billion in the cryptocurrency. Known as a “bitcoin whale,” Saylor has been an enthusiastic cryptocurrency cheerleader and influencer on Twitter and in interviews with national media outlets such as CNBC and Time magazine.

On Wednesday, Saylor tweeted to his 2.6 million Twitter followers, “In my next job, I intend to focus more on #Bitcoin.”

The company’s announcement came as it reported its financial results for the second quarter of 2022, which included the news that the company was reporting an impairment loss of $1.989 billion on its bitcoin holdings, due to a slide in the cryptocurrency’s value. The earnings report marked the seventh consecutive quarterly loss MicroStrategy has posted, dating back to late 2020.

According to the earnings report, as of June 30, MicroStrategy held approximately 129,699 bitcoins, for which it paid a total of $3.977 billion and which have a market value of about $2.451 billion. Coincidentally, $2.4 billion is also the total of loans and debt that MicroStrategy has taken on to acquire bitcoin.

Bitcoin was trading for $23,500.30 per coin on Wednesday; the cryptocurrency fell to $17,593 in June, its lowest point since December 2020. Bitcoin reached an all-time high of more than $68,000 per coin in November 2021. Amid discussion of a margin call on a bitcoin-backed loan from Silvergate, Saylor said in June that the company had enough collateral to cover the loan.

MicroStrategy share prices were up 11.82% Wednesday, trading at $311.15. The company’s shares were trading as high as $860 in November 2021, when its bitcoin holdings were worth as much as $7 billion.

MicroStrategy began acquiring bitcoin in August 2020, with an initial purchase of 21,000 bitcoins for $250 million.

In a statement, Saylor, who founded MicroStrategy in 1989 and took it public in 1998, said, “I believe that splitting the roles of chairman and CEO will enable us to better pursue our two corporate strategies of acquiring and holding bitcoin and growing our enterprise analytics software business. As executive chairman, I will be able to focus more on our bitcoin acquisition strategy and related bitcoin advocacy initiatives, while Phong will be empowered as CEO to manage overall corporate operations.”

Le said in a statement Tuesday, “I’m honored and excited to continue leading this truly innovative organization as president and CEO. Our people and our brand carry incredible momentum. I would like to reinforce our commitment to our customers, shareholders, partners and employees, and I look forward to leading the organization for the long-term health and growth of our enterprise software and bitcoin acquisition strategies.”