Changes in the executive staff of MicroStrategy Inc. have raised the question of how Bitcoin (BTC) will be affected by this situation.
Michael Saylor, one of the biggest supporters of Bitcoin, announced that he will resign as the CEO of MicroStrategy. A day after the company announced that Michael Saylor would relinquish his CEO title and take on a new role as chief executive officer, MicroStrategy’s stock rose almost 13%.
The company’s president, Phong Le, will take over as CEO from August 8. The change was announced when MicroStrategy reported a net loss of $1.06 billion in the second quarter as the price of Bitcoin fell. According to MicroStrategy, Phong will lead overall corporate operations, while Saylor will “focus more” on the company’s Bitcoin acquisition strategy and related Bitcoin advocacy initiatives.
Saylor, one of the most vocal Bitcoin supporters, had MicroStrategy first invested in the cryptocurrency in the summer of 2020 and then continued with the purchases. As of June 30, the company held approximately 129,699 Bitcoins. But the decision came with a price: since the initial Bitcoin purchase, MicroStrategy has recorded more than $1.98 billion in impairments in such assets.
Some critics attributed MicroStrategy’s executive transition to such losses and suggested that the company would soon divest its crypto assets, but Chris Kline, co-founder and chief operating officer of the Bitcoin IRA, described the move as bullish for digital assets.
“They let the new CEO take care of business operations. And Saylor is moving towards a hyperfocus role in the software business, Bitcoin acquisitions and strategy.”
Representatives at MicroStrategy did not respond to requests asking if the company plans to sell any Bitcoin shares.
BTIG analyst Mark Palmer said in a note Wednesday that he believes Saylor’s position change will not have a meaningful impact on MicroStrategy’s overall strategy. “Since MSTR launched its Bitcoin buy strategy in August 2020, Saylor’s primary focus has been the execution of this strategy,” Palmer explained.
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