Microsoft considers investing in Bitcoin: Board recommends against, final outcome depends on shareho
According to documents submitted to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Thursday, tech giant Microsoft appears to be considering investing in Bitcoin. The company has included this issue as a "voting item" on the agenda of the next shareholders' meeting scheduled for December 10th, with a proposal titled "Evaluation of Bitcoin Investment".
However, the statement attached below the proposal reads: "The board of directors recommends opposing this proposal." Microsoft stated in the SEC filing that the board of directors considers the proposal "unnecessary" because the company's management has "carefully considered this issue. However, despite the board's recommendation to oppose the proposal, shareholders can still choose to support it. If shareholders or shareholder groups with a large number of shares vote in favor, the proposal may still be passed. Therefore, the recommendations of the board of directors are influential, but not decisive.
Microsoft wrote in the notice and proxy statement of the 2024 annual general meeting of shareholders:
Microsoft's global finance and investment services team has evaluated various investable assets to support Microsoft's ongoing operations, including those expected to provide diversification and inflation protection, and reduce the risk of significant economic losses caused by rising interest rates. Previous evaluation options have included Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, and Microsoft will continue to monitor trends and developments related to cryptocurrencies to provide reference for future decisions. Microsoft (MSFT) is the third-largest technology company in the United States with a market value of $3.157 trillion. If the proposal is passed, Microsoft will become the largest publicly traded cryptocurrency investor, surpassing Micro Strategy and Tesla.
