Microsoft Eyes Bitcoin Entry but Board Prefers Shareholders Say ‘No’

Key Takeaways

• Microsoft is urging its shareholders to vote against a proposal to explore investment in Bitcoin.
• The National Center for Public Policy Research argued that Microsoft should invest at least 1% of its total assets.
• Microsoft has had a love-hate relationship with Bitcoin and other crypto assets.

Microsoft shareholders will vote in December on whether the company should explore adding Bitcoin to its balance sheet, according to a new filing.

However, despite previously exploring Bitcoin payments, the tech giant looks set to vote against the proposal–raising questions over Big Tech’s future utilization of crypto.

Microsoft Proposal

A document filed to the SEC on Thursday, Oct. 24, showed that the tech giant would vote on the “Assessment of Investing in Bitcoin” in December.

The National Center for Public Policy Research (NCPPR), a conservative think tank that filed the proposal, argued that Bitcoin was an “excellent, if not the best, hedge against inflation.”

The think tank claimed institutional adoption was becoming more “commonplace” through spot Bitcoin ETFs.

NCPPR added that Microsoft should invest at least 1% of its total assets into cryptocurrency.

But shareholders remained unconvinced. In its opposition statement , Microsoft said it has already considered Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies in the past.

“…Microsoft continues to monitor trends and developments related to cryptocurrencies to inform future decision-making,” the company wrote.

The board slammed the requested public assessment as “unwarranted,” as the company already has “strong and appropriate processes to manage and diversify” its investments.

Microsoft and Bitcoin

Microsoft’s relationship with Bitcoin and other crypto assets has been interesting. Unlike companies like Tesla, which have invested in crypto directly, the tech giant has not added Bitcoin to its corporate balance sheet.

The company has, however, gone through phases of integrating Bitcoin and blockchain technology into its broader ecosystem.

In 2014, Microsoft began accepting Bitcoin payments for its digital products in its Windows and Xbox stores, making it one of the first major tech companies to recognize cryptocurrency in its payments ecosystem. The tech giant phased out the payment option in 2018.

Microsoft’s Azure Blockchain Service, a cloud-based platform that helped businesses build blockchain networks, was equally launched and shut down a few years later.

In 2021, the tech giant announced an end to the platform, citing changes in the industry and a lack of demand.

While Microsoft seems fully focused on AI in 2024, it is clear that the tech giant has remained open to the potential of digital assets and decentralized technologies.