Investors in Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) and Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) are evaluating proposals to invest in Bitcoin following the notable gains achieved by MicroStrategy Inc. (NASDAQ: MSTR) through its bitcoin strategy.
What Happened: Microsoft shareholders are set to vote on Dec. 10 on a proposal to consider Bitcoin as a balance sheet asset. The proposal, supported by the National Center for Public Policy Research, recommends holding at least 1% of assets in bitcoin, citing its potential as an inflation hedge.
Similarly, a proposal has been made for Amazon to allocate 5% of its assets to Bitcoin, highlighting Bitcoin's impressive 1,246% price increase over the past five years, which has outperformed corporate bonds, Business Insider reported on Tuesday.
Despite these suggestions, Microsoft's board has advised against the proposal, stressing the importance of maintaining stability in corporate treasury holdings. The board believes that their current processes are sufficient for ensuring long-term shareholder value.
Meanwhile, MicroStrategy's CEO, Michael Saylor, has presented to Microsoft's board, advocating for potential market value growth through bitcoin investment. However, the betting site Polymarket suggests only a 13% likelihood of shareholder approval for Microsoft's Bitcoin evaluation.
Why It Matters: MicroStrategy recently disclosed a significant acquisition of 21,550 bitcoins for approximately $2.1 billion, bringing its total holdings to over 423,000 BTC. This purchase was funded through the issuance and sale of company shares, generating net proceeds of about $2.13 billion. The move underscores MicroStrategy's aggressive bitcoin strategy, which has influenced other tech giants to consider similar investments.