Michael Saylor, who cofounded business intelligence software company MicroStrategy in 1989, will step down as the company’s chief executive Aug. 8 to focus on increasing the company’s bitcoin investments.
MicroStrategy President Phong Le will become CEO. Saylor will become executive chairman.
MicroStrategy is one of the biggest holders of bitcoin in the world. The company also just reported a $1 billion second-quarter loss on the recent plunge in the prices of cryptocurrencies.
According to a statement, Saylor will focus primarily on innovation and long-term corporate strategy, while continuing to provide oversight of the company’s bitcoin acquisition strategy as head of the board’s investments committee.
“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,” Saylor said.
Phong joined MicroStrategy in 2015 and has served as president since July 2020.
Separately, Tysons, Virginia-based MicroStrategy announced second-quarter results, including $122.1 million in revenue, a 2.6% decrease from a year earlier, and a net loss of $1.06 billion, compared to a net loss of $299.3 million a year earlier. The loss included a $918 million impairment for digital asset losses.
Bitcoin, the most widely held cryptocurrency, has lost about half of its value this year.