Microsoft shareholders will vote on the evaluation of its Bitcoin investment, among other topics, at its annual meeting in December. This follows a trend of companies adding Bitcoin to their balance sheets as an inflation hedge. Microsoft's board of directors recommends against voting in favor of the motion, citing the careful consideration the company's management has given the topic.
Recent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) indicate that Microsoft intends to put the issue of investing in Bitcoin to a vote at its shareholder meeting scheduled for December 9, 2024. . However, we don't know if this proposal refers to adding Bitcoin to your Microsoft balance. It remains to be seen whether they will invest in the seat or just seriously consider it as an investment.
Micro-strategy and corporate Bitcoin government bond trends
The trend of companies adding Bitcoin to their balance sheets began when business intelligence software provider MicroStrategy bought Bitcoin en masse in 2020, at a time when the cryptocurrency was unpopular among businesses. It's a growing trend.
Since then, this trend has grown following the success of MicroStrategy's efforts. The company's stock price has increased 246% this year, from $68.39 on January 2nd to $235.89 at the time of writing. This is primarily due to the valuation of the company's large Bitcoin stash, which at the time of writing is valued at approximately 252,000 BTC, worth approximately $17.1 billion.
Since Microstrategy, companies like Tesla and Metaplanet Inc have added significant Bitcoin positions to their balance sheets.
As awareness and adoption of cryptocurrencies grows, more companies are turning to Bitcoin's potential as an inflation hedge.
Some resistance remains
Bitcoin's historical performance against other asset classes over the past decade cannot be disproved, but some companies remain skeptical about jumping on the bandwagon. Most large US tech companies do not invest in Bitcoin as an asset class or add it to their balance sheets.
Microsoft's board of directors is advising shareholders not to vote to consider Bitcoin as an investment at its upcoming general meeting. According to the SEC filing, “Microsoft management has already given careful consideration to this matter.”
