Microsoft shareholders voted against a resolution to add Bitcoin (BTC) to the company’s balance sheet at the company’s annual meeting on December 10.
The National Center for Public Policy Research (NCPPR), a free-market think tank based in Washington, D.C., proposed the resolution, calling it a corporate duty to provide value to shareholders through diversification of interests.
general shareholders’ meeting
NCPPR submitted a pre-recorded video outlining the proposal, which was played at the shareholders’ meeting. The video, which began with the phrase, “Microsoft can’t miss out on the next technology wave, and Bitcoin is that wave,” was filled with charts and figures showing the potential value of holding BTC.
In making its case, the group promised that adopting Bitcoin would create trillions of dollars in value and “remove risk” from shareholders. The video echoed sentiments previously expressed in the resolution’s text.
“Bitcoin adoption by institutions and businesses is becoming increasingly common. BlackRock, Microsoft’s second-largest shareholder, offers Bitcoin ETFs to its customers.”
The proposal advises against holding “too much” Bitcoin, noting that it is “more volatile” than corporate bonds, but also advises against “ignoring Bitcoin completely” and putting shareholder value at risk.
Therefore, NCPPR recommended that companies use 1% to 5% of their profits to purchase Bitcoin. The proposal formally requests that Microsoft “conduct an evaluation to determine whether diversifying the Company’s balance sheet to include Bitcoin is in the best long-term interests of its shareholders.”
relevant: What happens to Bitcoin price if Microsoft shareholders vote to buy BTC?
In a 14A filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Microsoft’s board of directors formally recommended opposition to the proposal. In its remarks, the board said the proposal was “unnecessary” and that “the company is already considering this topic carefully.”
“As noted in the proposal itself, volatility is a factor to consider when evaluating cryptocurrency investments for corporate finance applications that require stable and predictable investments to ensure liquidity and working capital.”
Are you relying too much on FOMO?
Much of the proposal content appears to rely on the “fear of failure” or “FOMO” mentality. The proposal cited Bitcoin adoption by MicroStrategy and BlackRock as motivating factors. NCPPR provided similar guidance to Amazon.
But Microsoft’s board remained unwavering ahead of the vote. In the aforementioned SEC filing, the board wrote, “Microsoft has strong and appropriate processes in place to manage and diversify its corporate treasury for the long-term benefit of its shareholders, and this requested public assessment is unreasonable.”
relevant: Buy the highest price forever: MicroStrategy secures 21.5K Bitcoin at the highest price.
In the filing, the board acknowledged that MicroStrategy’s operations are similar to its own but declined to extend the comparison beyond the two companies’ different approaches to the burgeoning cryptocurrency market.
According to preliminary results, shareholders voted against the resolution and followed the board’s directive in opposing the adoption of Bitcoin.
magazine: ‘Normie degens’ goes all in on sports fan crypto tokens for rewards.