Bitcoin 'Whale' Executive Purchases Approximately 1 Billion Won in Company Shares

On January 12, Carl J. Rickertsen, an executive at Strategy Inc. (NASDAQ: MSTR), known for its substantial bitcoin holdings, purchased 5,000 shares of the company’s Class A common stock on the U.S. market. The trade amounted to approximately $779,000 (about KRW 1 billion). Earlier, on January 8, President and CEO Le Phong acquired an additional 12 shares of Series A preferred stock—about $1,200 (roughly KRW 1.6 million)—through an account held in his child’s name. These insider purchases, though modest in size, were disclosed alongside the executives’ already significant holdings of both common and preferred shares.

Meanwhile, Strategy Inc.’s share price jumped nearly 6% in early January after index provider MSCI announced it would continue to include companies with large digital‐asset treasuries—like bitcoin—in its global indices. This decision, coupled with the recent surge in bitcoin prices, has contributed to heightened volatility in the stock. In its latest regulatory filing, the company confirmed it holds more than 670,000 bitcoins but reported an unrealized bitcoin impairment loss of about $17.44 billion (approximately KRW 23 trillion) for the fourth quarter of 2025.

Originally founded as an enterprise‐software vendor, Strategy Inc. now promotes itself as a “bitcoin development company,” leveraging large‐scale capital raises to acquire cryptocurrency. The firm has raised billions of dollars (tens of trillions of Korean won) through common and preferred stock offerings, as well as convertible bonds, to fund its bitcoin purchases. Under the leadership of Executive Chairman Michael Saylor and CEO Le Phong, the company’s strategic decisions are closely tied to movements in the digital‐asset market, drawing considerable attention from investors.