Microsoft Shareholders Vote Against Proposal to Invest in Bitcoin So What Will Be the Position of Companies Investing in Bitcoin and the Market Now?

Highlights;

• The National Center for Public Policy Research submitted the “Bitcoin Diversification Assessment” proposal to Microsoft for consideration at the annual meeting.
• Micheal Saylor, co-founder and chief executive officer of MicroStrategy, spoke to Microsoft’s board about the potential to grow market capitalization through Bitcoin investment.
• In its initial assessment of the proposal, the Microsoft board reiterated its conservative stance on Bitcoin investment.
• In the final decision, Microsoft shareholders voted against Bitcoin investment, not changing their conservative stance.

Inspired by MicroStrategy’s profits from Bitcoin investments, Micheal Saylor, co-founder and chief executive officer of MicroStrategy, presented to Microsoft’s board of directors on the potential for market capitalization growth through Bitcoin investment. Saylor said in a speech about the Microsoft presentation, “This is not really a presentation for Microsoft, this is a presentation for every company in the world. Every technology company. It would be no different if I was talking to Apple, Meta, or Google. It wouldn’t be different if I was talking to IBM, General Electric or Disney. These statements brought to mind the question of whether Microsoft could inspire other companies if it invests in Bitcoin.

In its first assessment of the proposal, Microsoft’s board of directors emphasized the importance of maintaining stability in corporate treasury assets, stating that current investment processes are sufficient to protect long-term shareholder value. In addition to these statements, the board’s statement that “Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies were among the options considered in past evaluations, and Microsoft continues to monitor trends and developments related to cryptocurrencies in future decision-making processes” may mean that the issue is not rejected unequivocally and may be re-evaluated in the future.

However, the board’s conservative rhetoric coincided with Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates’ skepticism towards cryptocurrencies and his statements that crypto assets are speculative assets. Meanwhile, a poll on betting site Polymarket found that there was only a 13% probability that Microsoft shareholders would give the green light to Bitcoin investment.

However, considering that Microsoft’s cash and cash equivalents are approximately 78.42 billion dollars, an investment of only 1% would be enough to put Microsoft in the top 10 among publicly traded companies investing in Bitcoin.

Public Companies Investing in Bitcoin

When we look at the main publicly traded companies that are currently investing in Bitcoin, MicroStrategy, which is frequently heard with Bitcoin, is in the first place with 423,650 Bitcoin, while Marathon Digital Holdings is in second place with 40,435 Bitcoin, Riot Platforms with 10,019 Bitcoin in third place, and finally Tesla with 9,720 Bitcoin in fourth place.

BTC Holdings by Companies

And Expected Decision

On December 10 at 8:30 a.m. PST, Microsoft shareholders voted against the idea of investing in Bitcoin. So much so that Microsoft did not change its conservative stance on the issue, even as Bitcoin surpassed its historic $100,000 level and world leaders such as President-elect Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin announced their support.

General Evaluation

Despite the decision, statements that Bitcoin investment may be re-evaluated in the future can be seen as positive. In addition, the confidence of many public companies, entrepreneurs and economists, especially world leaders, in cryptocurrencies, especially Bitcoin, will continue to be an important reference source for the markets.