The think tank that submitted the proposal for Bitcoin allocation believes that Microsoft cannot miss the next wave of technological advancement, and Bitcoin is part of that wave.
Written by: Li Dan, Wall Street Journal
Even though Bitcoin has shown strong momentum after Trump's election as President of the United States, tech giant Microsoft, which ranks second in market capitalization among U.S. stocks, currently has no plans to allocate Bitcoin.
On Tuesday, December 10th, Eastern Time, Microsoft shareholders voted down a proposal regarding Bitcoin allocation, arguing that Microsoft's existing strategy is already evaluating various investable assets, including Bitcoin, as part of Microsoft's broader investment framework.
The proposed plan is called 'Assessment of Investing in Bitcoin' and was submitted by the conservative think tank National Center for Public Policy Research (NCPPR) in Washington. This think tank argues that Bitcoin is a 'good inflation hedge tool, even if it is not the best.'
NCPPR's proposal defines Bitcoin as a responsibility for companies to provide value to shareholders through profit diversification, with the introductory video of the submitted proposal noting at the beginning:
'Microsoft cannot miss the next wave of technological advancement, and Bitcoin is part of that wave.'
NCPPR believes that adopting Bitcoin will create trillions of dollars in value and eliminate risks for shareholders. The video also echoes the content of the proposed text: the adoption of Bitcoin by institutions and companies is becoming increasingly common, with BlackRock, Microsoft's second-largest shareholder, providing clients with Bitcoin spot ETFs.
NCPPR's proposal suggests that Bitcoin is 'more volatile' than corporate bonds, thus recommending not to hold 'too much,' while also advising not to let shareholder value be at risk by 'completely ignoring Bitcoin.' Therefore, it suggests that Microsoft use 1% to 5% of its profits to purchase Bitcoin. The proposal formally requests that Microsoft 'evaluate whether including Bitcoin for corporate balance sheet diversification is in the best long-term interest of shareholders.'
After Microsoft shareholders rejected the proposal to hold Bitcoin, the price of Bitcoin fell back below $95,000 in U.S. stock trading on Tuesday. Data from CoinMarketCap shows that the trading price of Bitcoin dropped below $94,500 during U.S. midday trading, approaching the intraday low set at the beginning of the Asian market on Tuesday, which is a drop of over $3,800, or nearly 4%, from the intraday high of $98,200 earlier in U.S. trading.
At the same time, the drop in Meme coins has widened, with CoinMarketCap data showing that Dogecoin (DOGE), ranking seventh in market capitalization among global cryptocurrencies, has recently fallen over 14% in the last 24 hours, while dogwifhat (WIF), ranked 51st in market capitalization, has dropped over 20% intraday.
Microsoft shareholders voted down a proposal to reduce AI risks related to misinformation and data privacy breaches.
Microsoft shareholders also rejected a proposal concerning artificial intelligence (AI) risks on Tuesday. This proposal called for Microsoft to reduce AI risks ranging from misinformation to data privacy breaches and to disclose such risks.
The proponent of this proposal, the conservative nonprofit organization National Legal and Policy Center (NLPC), believes that shareholders 'should pay attention to Microsoft's record on data ethics,' and mentioned that OpenAI, the AI unicorn that Microsoft heavily invests in, has been accused of stealing user personal information without notification or permission.
The AI proposal on Tuesday reflected concerns that Microsoft's developers might use data from unethical or illegal sources to train generative AI, such as personal information, copyrighted works, or proprietary business information provided by users.
Commentary suggests that the proposal facing Microsoft shareholders reflects investors' demands for companies to consider developing new transparency and ethical policies for the development and use of AI, including generative AI, in the face of rapidly evolving AI technology.
