Key Takeaways
- Amazon shareholders are calling for the company to allocate at least 5% of its assets to Bitcoin.
- The proposal notes that Bitcoin has performed better than other assets such as corporate bonds in recent years.
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A group of Amazon shareholders is pushing for the company to allocate at least 5% of its assets to Bitcoin through a proposal submitted by the National Center for Public Policy Research (NCPPR), a think tank that advocates free market principles.
This proposal, shared by Tim Kotzman, recommends adding Bitcoin to Amazon’s treasury as a hedge against inflation and an asset diversification strategy. This references Bitcoin’s superior performance compared to traditional assets such as corporate bonds, while also pointing to existing Bitcoin investments by companies such as MicroStrategy and Tesla.
“Shares of MicroStrategy, which holds Bitcoin on its balance sheet, have outperformed Amazon stock by 537% over the past year. And they are not alone. Bitcoin adoption by institutions and corporations is becoming increasingly common. More public companies like Tesla and Block have added Bitcoin to their balance sheets, BlackRock and Fidelity, Amazon’s second and fourth largest institutional shareholders respectively, are offering Bitcoin ETFs to customers, and in the US, the government “We may form a Bitcoin strategic reserve in 2025,” he wrote.
The proposal calls for Amazon’s board of directors to evaluate whether its Bitcoin financial allocation is in the long-term interests of shareholders.
Amazon has previously shown interest in blockchain technology, particularly supply chain management, but has not issued a public response to the proposal.
NCPPR’s proposal is part of a broader institutional push toward Bitcoin adoption. Last October, the think tank sent a similar letter to Microsoft urging it to consider investing in Bitcoin.
Microsoft’s board recommended shareholders vote against the proposal, saying it was already considering “a variety of investable assets,” including Bitcoin.
If Microsoft refuses to invest in Bitcoin and the value of the digital asset subsequently rises, the NCPPR warned that it could lead to shareholder lawsuits.
Microsoft shareholders are scheduled to vote on the Bitcoin consideration proposal on December 10th.
What happens next after the NCPPR shareholder proposal?
Once a shareholder proposal is submitted, Amazon’s board of directors will review it and decide whether to include it in Amazon’s proxy statement for the upcoming annual shareholder meeting.
If the proposal is added to the proxy statement, shareholders will vote on it at the annual general meeting scheduled for April 2025. The outcome of the vote is determined by the number of votes in favor and against the proposal.
Like Microsoft, Amazon’s board of directors typically makes recommendations on how shareholders should vote on each proposal.
Amazon’s top shareholders include major financial institutions such as Vanguard Group, BlackRock, State Street, Fidelity Management & Research, Geode Capital Management, and JPMorgan.
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