Long before crypto companies’ stock prices collapsed this year, executives were protecting themselves with high salaries detailed in Securities and Exchange Commission filings.
With lavish salary packages paid even during a terrifying bear market, the fine print tells a very different story than the public storytelling.
Consider the executive compensation package of David Bailey, a Donald Trump ally and CEO of Bitcoin (BTC) finance company Nakamoto.
Despite the 98% drop in stock price, Nakamoto filed Exhibit 10.15 on Form 8-K dated August 11 in which he acknowledged making payments to BTC Consulting LLC, a company controlled by Bailey.
- a $250,000 Signature benefit
- a Monthly consulting fee $58,333
- The first grant is 5 million NAKA Stock Options
- 1 million dollars Limited stock unit
- qualification $2.1 million Annual cash-based incentive bonus
- Free use of private jet
NAKA stock, which closed at $14.28 on Aug. 11, is now worth less than $0.45 per share. To make matters worse, Mr. Bailey continues to lead the company since it hit an all-time high of $34.77 in May. Stock price crashes 98.7%.
Read more: Could a hostile takeover be the end for Nakamoto?
No matter how bad his strategy goes, Michael Saylor will keep his billions
Bailey’s compensation is abysmal, but it pales in comparison to that of Michael Saylor, the founder of the largest cryptocurrency company trading on a U.S. exchange other than Coinbase.
60% down From a peak market cap of $124.7 billion on July 17 to a current $49 billion, Mr. Thaler still makes billions personally from Major Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy).
Saylor’s personal net worth will likely exceed $5 billion, thanks in large part to a special type of Class B stock that gives him 10-to-1 voting rights, as well as a board bonus of founder-friendly stock options and convertible debt.
He spent billions of dollars on The company’s common stock fell 61%. Over the past 12 months.
Consider another example of Anthony Pompliano’s $400 million executive compensation package from ProCap. That payday led to the publication of a hostile letter to shareholders by Paul Glaser.
Shares of Columbus Circle Capital Corp. I, the SPAC that was supposed to take Pompliano’s ProCap public, briefly rose above $16 in June following initial optimism about the podcaster and media influencer.
As the stock price returned to its pre-merger announcement level of $10, Mr. Glaser bought a 7.7% stake and expressed his staunch opposition to Mr. Pompliano’s proposal.
In fact, Mr. Pompliano structured his compensation so that even if the stock price halved from $10 to $5, he could personally walk away with at least $50 million.
He added a $10 million cash payout to himself in the event of early termination without cause.
Crash-proof coverage for crypto asset professionals
Other examples abound. At the peak of the cryptocurrency bubble in May, DeFi Development Corporation agreed to pay CEO Joseph Onorati an annual salary of $574,000, as well as a 200% bonus if the company achieved “WAGMI tier” milestones.
WAGMI is a code acronym for “We’re All Gonna Make It.” Since that press release, his stock has fallen 48%.
Core Scientific has increased CEO Adam Sullivan’s personal compensation to $41.9 million in 2024, 47 times the 2023 level.
Despite this impressive rise, the company’s stock price stagnates in 2025, remaining completely flat since the beginning of the year.
At Upexi, Solana’s finance company, CEO Alan Marshall will earn a personal salary of $840,000, plus a six-month restricted stock grant of 75,000 shares and an additional warrant to purchase 500,000 shares at a $2.28 strike over five years.
Despite these supposed motives, Upexi’s stock price fell below the value of Solana’s holdings.
Some shareholders, like Mr. Glaser’s activists against Mr. Pompliano, are aware that they can vote against these staggering compensation packages. Already, 36% of BTC mining company shareholders oppose recent executive compensation proposals, which is 29% higher than the S&P 500 average.
