Microsoft shareholder proposes firm look into investing in Bitcoin

Microsoft shareholders are set to vote in December on whether the tech giant should publicly assess adding Bitcoin to its balance sheet, a filing with the United States securities regulator reveals.

In the Oct. 24 filing, Microsoft disclosed that “Assessment of Investing in Bitcoin” is proposed to certain shareholders who will vote in a Dec. 10 meeting.

Still, the Microsoft board recommends voting against it because they already “evaluate a wide range of investable assets,” including Bitcoin 

The National Center for Public Policy Research (NCPPR) pushed the proposal, which highlighted business intelligence firm MicroStrategy’s Bitcoin investment strategy and that it has outperformed Microsoft by over 300% this year “despite doing a fraction of the business” of Microsoft.

It also said that institutional and corporate adoption is becoming more “commonplace” through spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds.

The research center noted Bitcoin remains volatile but could serve as a hedge against inflation and corporate bond yields.

”At minimum, companies should evaluate the benefits of holding some, even just 1% of its assets in Bitcoin,” it said.

NCPPR describes itself as a “non-partisan, free-market, independent conservative think tank” focused on securing the liberty of Americans now and for future generations.

While a Microsoft investment into Bitcoin looks unlikely, it accepted Bitcoin payments at its online Xbox store between 2014 and 2018.

The firm is more invested in artificial intelligence technology than blockchain.

Microsoft’s (MSFT) share price traded relatively flat on Oct. 24, increasing 0.03% to $424.7, Google Finance data shows.

source: https://cointelegraph.com/news/microsoft-board-assess-investing-bitcoin-shareholder-vote