CleanSpark (CLSK) CTO Monnig Taylor Exercises Options, Sells Shares

What Happened
Monnig Taylor, CleanSpark’s (CLSK) Chief Technology Officer and Chief Operating Officer, exercised/converted derivative awards on Sept 4, 2026 and immediately disposed of a portion of the resulting shares. Across transactions on Sept 4 and Sept 8, Taylor sold about 146,874 shares for aggregate proceeds of roughly $1.94 million. The disposals include share transfers to satisfy tax withholding obligations (code F) and open-market sales (code S); the underlying exercises/conversions are reported as derivative transactions (code M).

Key Details

• Transaction dates & prices:
  • Sept 4, 2026: exercises/conversions (derivative M) reported for 132,158; 45,125; and 120,333 shares at $0.00 (exercise of previously granted awards).
  • Sept 4, 2026 sales (open market/tax): ~22,270 shares sold at a weighted-average around $12.56–12.67 (total ≈ $280,800 for that tranche).
  • Sept 8–9, 2026 sales (open market/tax): ~124,604 shares sold at a weighted-average around $13.19–13.70 (total ≈ $1.66M for those tranches).
  • Total disposed: ~146,874 shares for about $1.94M in proceeds.
• Sale types: F = shares surrendered/paid to cover tax/exercise obligations; S = open-market/private sales. M = exercise/conversion of derivative awards.
• 10b5-1 plan: at least some sales were executed pursuant to a Rule 10b5-1 trading plan adopted May 13, 2026 (footnote F1).
• Vesting/award context: the filing also discloses multiple RSU, LTIP and STPA awards with future vesting and performance/price-based conditions (see footnotes F10–F12).
• Shares owned after transaction: the filing excerpt provided does not specify post-transaction beneficial ownership.
• Timeliness: filing date 2026-09-09 covers Sept 4 and Sept 8 transactions. Sept 4 transactions were reported after the typical two-business-day Form 4 deadline (i.e., reported late); Sept 8 transactions were reported within the usual window.

Context: These transactions appear to be option/RSU exercises followed by share transfers to cover tax obligations and additional open-market sales — a routine “cashless” style pattern frequently used by insiders when awards vest. Such sales are common and do not, by themselves, indicate the insider’s longer-term view of the company. Purchases by insiders generally carry more informational weight than routine sales to cover taxes.