MicroStrategy becomes the first American company to pay its directors in Bitcoin (BTC)

MicroStrategy board directors will now be paid in Bitcoin, CEO Michael Saylor said in a tweet today.

“The Board of Directors of  MicroStrategy is now paid in Bitcoin,” the tweet read. The board of directors is a panel of high-profile individuals who are elected to represent and protect shareholder interests and managing corporate oversight.

The Board of Directors of @MicroStrategy is now paid in #bitcoin. $MSTRhttps://t.co/3ChlkCNZOT

— Michael Saylor (@michael_saylor) April 12, 2021

Bitcoin…but how?

As per the company’s investor relations page, MicroStrategy has a total of five board directors including Saylor. These are Stephen Graham, Jarrod M. Patten, Carl J. Rickertsen, and Leslie Rechan.

In a filing to the US Securities and Exchange Commission, MicroStrategy clarified how the director fees in Bitcoin will be paid out. “Going forward, non-employee directors will receive all fees for their service on the Company’s Board in Bitcoin instead of cash,” the filing read.

It noted that the adoption of Bitcoin as a form of compensation for Board service came amidst MicroStrategy’s “commitment to Bitcoin given its ability to serve as a store of value, supported by a robust and public open-source architecture, untethered to sovereign monetary policy.”

As such, the amount of fees payable to the non-employee directors would remain unchanged and will be nominally denominated in USD. However, at the time of payment, the fees will be converted from USD into Bitcoin by a payment processor and then deposited into the digital wallet of the director.

MICROSTRATEGY TO PAY BOARD OF DIRECTORS IN BITCOIN.

“At the time of payment, the fees will be converted from USD into bitcoin by the payment processor and then deposited into the digital wallet of the applicable non-employee director.” pic.twitter.com/tLBmCVRbr6

— Neil Jacobs (@NeilJacobs) April 12, 2021

The move marked the first time a company in the US (or the world) choose to pay its directors in Bitcoin instead of fiat money. MicroStrategy was also the first major business to invest its treasury funds (the firm sits on 90,000 BTC), paving the path forward for others like Tesla, Square, and Meitu to make similar purchases.

Could companies follow MicroStrategy’s lead of paying directors in Bitcoin now?

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