230 million new Facebook shares entered the market this week as many Facebook employees gained the ability to sell their shares for the first time. Many predicted that the stock would drop as much as 10% in value Monday as employees rushed to cash in on the $5.2 billion they collectively earned in stock options over the years. However the price of Facebook shares remained steady. So what happened and why is it important?

The most positive takeaway is a vote of confidence in Facebook by one of the most important groups to watch: its own employees. Many people had the opportunities to become millionaires today, but instead chose to remain fully vested in their company. That, coupled with a positive earnings report, suggests that the site is poised for large financial growth in the coming years.

There is of course a more cynical explanation. The employees could simply be awaiting on the results of Tuesday’s election. Governor Romney has pledged to allow Capital gains tax to remain at 15%, while President Obama has pledged to more than double that percentage. This difference would affect share value, as it would directly impact how much an employee would take home after a sale. Moreover, Hurricane Sandy slowed all trading earlier this week to a crawl, making it likely that we won’t see the full impact these shares for another few days at least.

Whether the lack of a major sell off was optimism or opportunism remains to be seen. We will know by November 8th, as the New York area recovers from the Sandy’s disastrous effects and the election is decided.