Microsoft Allegedly Begins Early Voting on Bitcoin Investment

As a seasoned analyst with over two decades in the tech and finance sectors under my belt, I’ve seen my fair share of bold moves by industry titans. However, Microsoft’s potential Bitcoin bet is one that has piqued my interest more than most.


A recent post by Alexander Leishman, CEO of brokerage firm River, indicates that Microsoft Corp (MSFT) has begun considering an investment in Bitcoin (BTC), as suggested by a poll he shared on his platform. The poll asked viewers for their thoughts on a proposal to invest in the leading cryptocurrency.

Microsoft Bitcoin Bet, Stakeholders Hold All The Cards

In the Microsoft Bitcoin BTC investment proposal survey, you have three choices to pick from: “In Favor”, “Against”, or “Neutral/Abstain”.

The creators of the survey explicitly mentioned that the “Against” choice is endorsed by Microsoft’s board. It’s important to mention that while the community was prepared for this decision, it’s happening much sooner than anticipated.

Yo Voté $MSFT

— Alexander Leishman (@Leishman) October 30, 2024

Just five days ago, I learned that my firm submitted a document to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). What caught my attention in this filing was an unexpected addition to their agenda for the upcoming annual shareholder meeting on December 10th. As anticipated, the document contained plans for electing directors, ratifying Microsoft as our independent auditor, and addressing AI-related misinformation matters. However, the new item piqued my curiosity.

Indeed, among all the documents, one particular one grabbed my attention – it was titled “Evaluation of Investment in Bitcoin.” The board recommended that Microsoft shareholders should cast their votes against this proposal.

Microsoft’s Potential Bet May Trigger Valuation Boost

According to Microsoft’s Q2 2024 earnings report, the company holds approximately $76 billion in cash and liquid assets. If Microsoft shareholders were to approve a proposal requiring the company to invest at least 10% of its cash reserves into Bitcoin, this would translate to a significant investment of around $7.6 billion. As of now, one Bitcoin is worth about $71,745.84 according to CoinMarketCap.

Given that the average cost per unit is set at approximately $73,000, the technology firm could potentially purchase around 104,109 Bitcoins according to their projected allocation.

Remarkably, this possession exceeds the current value of Elon Musk’s Tesla by more than eleven times. Yet, it is still less than MicroStrategy’s 252,220 Bitcoin units, a business intelligence and software firm. Given that over 80% of Bitcoin has been static for the past six months, acquiring up to 100,000 BTC could potentially cause a surge in supply.

Although it’s unclear how a large purchase by Microsoft will impact the price, there’s a possibility it could drive the digital currency up to the long-awaited $100,000 mark. Ultimately, the outcome depends on the actions of the shareholders. For the time being, the broader crypto community is keeping a close watch on the development surrounding Microsoft’s Bitcoin proposition.

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2024-10-30 21:33