Microsoft shareholders vote ‘no’ on Bitcoin reserve

Microsoft shareholders voted against a resolution to add Bitcoin (BTC) to the company’s balance sheets during the firm’s annual meeting on Dec. 10. 

The National Center for Public Policy Research (NCPPR), a pro-free-market think-tank based in Washington, D.C., had proposed the resolution, framing it as a corporate duty to provide value to shareholders through profit diversification. 

Shareholders meeting

The NCPPR submitted a pre-recorded video outlining their proposal, which was played during the shareholder’s meeting. The video, which opened with the line “Microsoft can’t afford to miss the next technology wave, and Bitcoin is that wave,” was replete with charts and figures demonstrating the potential value of holding BTC. 

In making its case, the group promised that adopting Bitcoin would create trillions in value and “strip away risk” from shareholders. The video echoed sentiments previously made in the text of its resolution: 

“The institutional and corporate adoption of Bitcoin is becoming more commonplace. Microsoft’s second largest shareholder, BlackRock, offers its clients a Bitcoin ETF.”

The proposal did point out that Bitcoin was “more volatile” than corporate bonds, and thus advised against holding “too much of it,” but also advised against risking shareholder value by “ignoring Bitcoin altogether.”

As such, the NCPPR recommended using between 1% and 5% of the firm’s profits to purchase Bitcoin. The proposal formally requested that Microsoft “conduct an assessment to determine if diversifying the Company’s balance sheet by including Bitcoin is in the best long-term interests of shareholders.”

Related: What happens to Bitcoin price if Microsoft shareholders vote to buy BTC?

In a 14A filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Microsoft’s board formally recommended against the proposal. In its remarks, the board called the proposal “unnecessary” and said the company “already carefully considers this topic.”

“As the proposal itself notes, volatility is a factor to consider in evaluating cryptocurrency investments for corporate treasury applications that require stable and predictable investments to ensure liquidity and operational funding.”

Too reliant on FOMO?

Much of the proposal’s text appears to rely on the “fear of missing out” or “FOMO” mentality. The proposal cited both MicroStrategy and BlackRock’s Bitcoin adoption as motivational factors. The NCPPR has given Amazon similar guidance. 

However, Microsoft’s board was unswayed ahead of the vote. “Microsoft has strong and appropriate processes in place to manage and diversify its corporate treasury for the long-term benefit of shareholders,” wrote the board in the aforementioned SEC filing, “and this requested public assessment is unwarranted.”

Related: Buying the top forever: MicroStrategy bags 21.5K Bitcoin at peak prices

In the filing, the board recognized that MicroStrategy’s operations were similar to its own but declined to extend the comparison beyond the two firms’ differing approaches to the burgeoning cryptocurrency market. 

According to preliminary results, the shareholders voted against the resolution and kept with the board’s guidance against adopting Bitcoin.

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