Microsoft Urges Shareholders To Reject Bitcoin Investment Proposal

Updated: 25 October 2024

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Software giant Microsoft has advised its shareholders to vote against a proposal that urges the company to consider investing in Bitcoin (BTC).

Microsoft revealed in an Oct. 24 filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that the proposal, entitled “Assessment of Investing in Bitcoin,” will be put to a vote at its upcoming shareholder meeting on Dec. 10

The company’s board recommended that investors vote against the proposal because the firm already evaluates “a wide range of investable assets.”

MicroStrategy Outperforms Microsoft By 300% This Year

The proposal was made by the National Center for Public Policy Research (NCPPR), which argued that MicroStrategy has outperformed Microsoft by 300% this year due to its Bitcoin investment strategy.

It added that MicroStrategy was able to do this “despite doing a fraction of the business of Microsoft.”

Good evening.

It's official. At the December 10th Annual Meeting, Microsoft shareholders will vote on 'Investing in #Bitcoin'. Though the Board officially recommends 'Against' this measure, the significance is clear: #Bitcoin can no longer be simply ignored by public companies…

— James Lavish (@jameslavish) October 24, 2024

Institutional and corporate adoption of Bitcoin is also becoming more “commonplace” following the launch of US spot Bitcoin ETFs (exchange-traded funds), the NCPPR said.

Despite BTC’s volatility, the NCPPR said that the leading crypto could still offer a hedge against inflation and corporate bond yields. It added that BTC is an “excellent, if not the best, hedge against inflation.”

”At minimum, companies should evaluate the benefits of holding some, even just 1% of its assets in Bitcoin,” it said.

Microsoft’s History With Bitcoin

Despite Microsoft’s board recommending investors vote against the proposal, the company has explored Bitcoin and its technology in the past. Between 2014 and 2018, the company accepted payment in BTC at its online Xbox store.

However, the firm is now more focused on artificial intelligence. In 2019, it invested $1 billion into OpenAI, and then went on to invest another $10 billion in January 2023.

Microsoft’s share price rose slightly in the past 24 hours to trade at $424.73 as of 2:38 a.m. EST. MicroStrategy’s share price surged more than 10% during the same period, after the Bitcoin price edged up during the same period.