The long-awaited Microsoft shareholder meeting has finally yielded results, but unfortunately, the outcome is not what the cryptocurrency community hoped for.
Voting results show that Microsoft’s main shareholders opposed the company’s Bitcoin investment proposal on Tuesday. The issue arose because the Microsoft board had previously urged shareholders to consider a suggestion from the National Center for Public Policy Research, which recommended that Microsoft invest 1% of its total assets in Bitcoin to hedge against inflation.
At the shareholder meeting, MicroStrategy Chairman Michael Saylor gave a three-minute speech trying to persuade Microsoft shareholders to support the proposal.
The proposal asks the board to evaluate whether including Bitcoin on the balance sheet aligns with the long-term interests of shareholders.
Saylor spoke on behalf of the shareholder rights organization FEP, predicting that Bitcoin's market value will increase from $2 trillion to over $200 trillion in 21 years, and emphasized that Bitcoin's performance is ten times higher than Microsoft's stock price.
It is worth noting that FEP Deputy Director Ethan Peck revealed that if Microsoft CEO Nadella agreed to meet privately with Saylor for one hour, FEP would be willing to withdraw the proposal, but it was refused.
Data shows that Microsoft’s largest shareholders are institutional investors, including Vanguard and BlackRock.
Eswar Prasad, a professor of trade policy at Cornell University, stated that considering the positive outlook for the cryptocurrency industry under the Trump administration, it is a reasonable choice for the company to invest a small portion of its reserves in cryptocurrency.
Currently, FEP has submitted a similar proposal to Amazon and may expand to other companies in the future.
There are three pieces of information worth noting here.
1. Microsoft has rejected the plan to immediately invest in Bitcoin.
2. The largest shareholders of Microsoft include Vanguard and BlackRock.
3. FEP has submitted a similar proposal to Amazon and may expand to other companies in the future.
Let’s first discuss why Microsoft would refuse.
Generally speaking, when a girl receives a confession from a guy she is not familiar with, her first response is usually rejection; often this is due to a lack of understanding, or she feels the timing for maximizing benefits is not right, and she needs more time, but this does not mean she will always reject in the future.
Take Bitcoin as an example; how long did it take you from hearing about it to getting to know it? Did you buy it immediately upon hearing about it?
Not quite; individuals are like this, but a company is made up of countless individuals, and the entire decision-making process will be more cautious, requiring more time for evaluation.
We all know that when a public company is acquiring another company, everything done prior to the public announcement is kept confidential. For example, if Company A intends to acquire a company called Bitcoin, once the acquisition information is made public, the price of Bitcoin usually skyrockets.
So before the announcement, will I buy some Bitcoin in the secondary market in advance?
But on the contrary, I don’t have any assets (Bitcoin) in hand, let alone it being a financial asset, and now being in a bull market, why should I accept this proposal now and take over for others?
If you were a decision-maker at Microsoft deciding to buy Bitcoin, would you tell the whole world before making the purchase?
Microsoft is a company, not a charity; if shareholders and relevant stakeholders have not done their homework privately before benefiting from Bitcoin, would they publicly shout to the world?
Passing the proposal would mean significant benefits for Bitcoin, a big win for Microsoft, indicating a rapid rise in coin prices, which also means a quick rise in Microsoft’s stock price. Clearly, at this stage, it is not the time for Microsoft to maximize its interests; in other words, this time it is intentionally suppressing coin prices and stock prices.
News is often a smokescreen, which indicates that Microsoft is about to take action next.
Let’s take a look at who Microsoft’s major shareholders are; public information shows that the top five shareholders are Vanguard, BlackRock, State Street, Fidelity, and others.
Wow, it's BlackRock and Fidelity again; isn't this the Bitcoin ETF army?
Yes, you read that right; under such circumstances, whether directly purchasing or through ETFs, isn't it just a matter of time before Microsoft buys Bitcoin?
Looking around, from the president to billionaire Musk, and to the everyday people behind ETFs, it seems that the entire country is about to go all-in on Bitcoin.
FEP is continuously promoting Bitcoin to major public companies; recently, FEP submitted a similar proposal to Amazon, suggesting that Amazon shareholders consider investing in Bitcoin, and FEP stated that this action will continue to expand to other companies in the future.
So, for those who are still hesitating, I want to say: do not let the fog produced by capital blind your eyes; now is an excellent time.
Seizing the opportunity is not only about the value of Bitcoin, but also because it represents a shift in an era; we are witnessing history, and how you choose to participate will determine your position in this transformation.