Microsoft shareholders are scheduled to vote on a proposal at a December 10 meeting to assess whether the company should diversify its balance sheet to include Bitcoin, according to a recent SEC filing.
However, the company’s board formally recommended voting against the initiative.
The proposal, submitted by the National Center for Public Policy Research (NCPPR), states that companies have a “fiduciary responsibility” to maximize shareholder value by working to protect profits from damage.
The conservative think tank has sounded the alarm on inflation in the US, arguing that to break even, corporate assets need to rise in parallel with the CPI.
But the think tank says Microsoft’s assets, worth about $484 billion, barely keep pace with inflation because it invests primarily in U.S. government and corporate bonds.
NCPPR believes Microsoft should take a page out of business intelligence firm MicroStrategy’s playbook by adding Bitcoin to its balance sheet. The company noted that the largest cryptocurrencies have risen more than 400% over the past five years, significantly outperforming bonds.
The think tank believes Bitcoin is probably the best inflation hedge. “Companies should at least evaluate the benefits of holding a portion of their assets, even 1%, in Bitcoin.
Although this proposal is highly unlikely to pass, some Bitcoin supporters still see this as a positive development.
According to former hedge fund manager James Rabish, the resolution shows that publicly traded companies can no longer ignore Bitcoin.
