Nikolas Sargeant
Microsoft has taken a firm stance against a recent shareholder proposal to invest in Bitcoin, asserting that such a move wouldn't serve their shareholders' best interests. In a Thursday filing, the technology leader emphasized that their management team has already conducted thorough evaluations of cryptocurrency investments.
"Our ongoing assessment process includes Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies as potential options," Microsoft stated. "We maintain active monitoring of cryptocurrency trends to guide our future investment decisions."
Treasury Stability Takes Priority Over Crypto Ventures
For Microsoft's key institutional investors—Vanguard, BlackRock, and State Street—cryptocurrency volatility presents a significant consideration. The company emphasized that corporate treasury management demands stability and predictable returns to ensure operational continuity and maintain adequate liquidity.
"Our robust treasury management framework effectively serves long-term shareholder interests," Microsoft declared. "Additional public assessment of these processes would be redundant."
Proposal Highlights Crypto Investment Success Stories
The National Center for Public Policy Research plans to present their Bitcoin diversification strategy at Microsoft's December 10 annual meeting. Their proposal points to MicroStrategy's success, whose Bitcoin-focused approach yielded 300% better stock performance than Microsoft this year, despite their smaller operational scale.
"Bitcoin adoption among institutions and corporations continues to grow," noted the Center. "Consider that BlackRock, Microsoft's second-largest shareholder, now provides Bitcoin ETF access to clients." The think tank advocates for companies to allocate minimum 1% of assets to Bitcoin. This proposal follows Microsoft's recent $1.5 billion investment in UAE's G42, highlighting their focus on AI expansion.
