Microsoft Shareholders to Vote on Bitcoin Integration: Is This a Move Toward Cryptocurrency Adoption?

According to a recent filing, Microsoft shareholders will vote in December on whether the corporation should consider adding Bitcoin to its balance sheet.

Despite previously studying Bitcoin payments, the IT behemoth appears ready to vote against the plan which raise concerns about Big Tech’s future use of cryptocurrency.

Microsoft shareholders will vote in December on if they include Bitcoin (BTC-USD) on the company’s financial sheet. According to a filing with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission on October 24, shareholders will vote on a proposal titled “Assessment of Investing in Bitcoin” during a meeting scheduled for December 10.

BREAKING: Microsoft to vote for or against "Assessment of Investing in #Bitcoin" during shareholder meeting in December, SEC filing reveals 👀 pic.twitter.com/wNfpZJmeTw

— Bitcoin Magazine (@BitcoinMagazine) October 24, 2024

The suggestion was supported by the National Center for Public Policy Research (NCPPR), which highlighted business intelligence firm MicroStrategy’s Bitcoin investment strategy and how it outperformed Microsoft by over 300% this year “despite doing a fraction of the business” of Microsoft.

It also stated that institutional and business adoption is becoming more “commonplace” due to spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds.

According to the research center, Bitcoin remains volatile but might be used as a hedge against inflation and corporate bond yields. Companies should at the very least consider the benefits of holding some, even just 1%, of their assets in Bitcoin, it said.

The plan is attractive, but Microsoft’s board is considering voting “no” since they “evaluate a wide range of investable assets,” which includes Bitcoin.

Board Confidence in Management: Diversifying Without Bitcoin

The board of directors reaffirmed its belief in management’s ability to make sound asset decisions that would strengthen Microsoft’s capacity to run its business. In other words, a shareholder-mandated decision regarding Bitcoin is not necessary for this.

The Global Treasury and Investment Services group at Microsoft is always looking for ways to diversify their portfolio. Inflation protection and risk management are two more factors to think about.

It has been fascinating to see Microsoft’s interaction with Bitcoin and other crypto assets. Bitcoin has not been added to the corporate balance sheet by the IT giant, unlike corporations like Tesla that have invested directly in crypto.

Bitcoin Microsoft Love- Hate relationship

Nonetheless, the business has gone through several stages of incorporating blockchain and Bitcoin into its larger ecosystem. Microsoft was an early adopter of Bitcoin as a payment option for digital goods in its Windows and Xbox storefronts, having started accepting the cryptocurrency in 2014. As of 2018, the IT giant no longer accepted the payment method.

Similarly, a few years after its inception, Microsoft discontinued Azure Blockchain Service, a cloud-based platform that had assisted enterprises in developing blockchain networks. The internet behemoth said the platform would be ending in 2021 due to industry shifts and low demand.

⚠️ JUST IN:

MICROSOFT PLANS TO CUT HUNDREDS OF POSITIONS IN AZURE CLOUD BUSINESS$MSFT pic.twitter.com/ysc2lh5X4H

— Investing.com (@Investingcom) June 4, 2024

The company has obviously kept an eye on the possibilities of digital assets and decentralized technologies, even if Microsoft appears to be concentrating entirely on AI in 2024.