Bitcoin in Spotlight as MicroStrategy's Saylor Offers Microsoft CEO Trillion-Dollar Deal
MicroStrategy’sExecutiveChairmanMichaelSaylorhasdrawnattentiontoBitcoin’spotentialforcorporatebalancesheets.Healsosuggestedatrillion-dollardealtoMicrosoft,aleadingtechcompany.Moreover,thiscouldmarkthebeginningofaneweraofcorporateadoptionofBitcoin. MicroStrategy’sSaylorProposesMajorDealtoMicrosoftCEO SaylorbelievesMicrosoftcouldunlocksubstantialshareholdervaluebydiversifyingintoBTC.AsMicrosoftfacedaproposalforaBitcoindiversificationassessmentatitsrecentannualmeeting,SaylordirectedapublicmessagetoMicrosoftCEOSatyaNadella: “HeySatyaNadella,ifyouwanttomakethenexttrilliondollarsfor$MSFTshareholders,callme.” TheproposalforMicrosofttoconsideraddingBitcointoitstreasuryassets,submittedbytheNationalCenterforPublicPolicyResearch,emphasizedthevalueofassetsthatappreciateamidinflationarypressures.Thestatementargued,“Corporationshaveafiduciarydutytomaximizeshareholdervaluenotonlybyworkingtoincreaseprofitsbutalsobyworkingtoprotectthoseprofitsfromdebasement.” Hey@SatyaNadella,ifyouwanttomakethenexttrilliondollarsfor$MSFTshareholders,callme.pic.twitter.com/NPnVvL7Wmj —MichaelSaylor⚡️(@saylor)October25,2024 TheshareholdergroupunderscoredthatBitcoinoutperformedtraditionalcorporatebondssignificantlyoverrecentyears,delivering414%growthoverthepastfiveyears.TheproposalalsohighlightedthatMicroStrategysawitsstockoutperformMicrosoft’sbyastriking313%thisyear,despitebeingamuchsmallerentity. Inaddition,MatthewSigel,VanEck’sHeadofDigitalAssetsResearch,alsohighlightedMicrosoft’sevaluationofBitcoinandothercryptocurrenciesfortheirtreasurypotential.InarecentpostonX(formerlyTwitter),heexplained,“MSFThas&‘willcontinuetomonitortrends&developmentsrelatedtocryptocurrenciestoinformfuturedecision-making.’” MSFTSaysCompanyAlreadyConsiders#BitcoinasPossibleTreasuryAsset,MakingtheShareholderProposalRedundant. MSFTHas&“WillContinuetoMonitorTrends&DevelopmentsRelatedtoCryptocurrenciestoInformFutureDecision-Making”https://t.co/9VLGN1YCBXpic.twitter.com/b4LuejpR46 —matthewsigel,recoveringCFA(@matthew_sigel)October25,2024 Microsoft’sShareholderstoVoteonBitcoinProposal Microsoft’sboardhasrecommendedavoteagainsttheproposal,statingthatitsGlobalTreasuryandInvestmentServicesteamalreadyevaluatesdiverseassets,includingcryptocurrencies,toensurebothdiversificationandinflationprotectionforthecompany.AccordingtoMicrosoft’sofficialresponse,theboardbelievesanassessmentfocusedspecificallyonBitcoinwouldbeunnecessary,as“Microsoft’smanagementalreadycarefullyconsidersthistopic. Theyaddedthat“volatilityisafactortoconsiderinevaluatingcryptocurrencyinvestmentsforcorporatetreasuryapplicationsthatrequirestableandpredictableinvestments.”Nonetheless,advocatesofBitcoin’sintegrationbelieveitslong-termappreciationcouldofferuniquevalueintimesofhighinflation. TheshareholderproposalnotedthatU.S.inflationaveraged5.03%overthelastfouryears.Thismeansthatacorporation’sassetswouldneedtoappreciatesignificantly“justtobreakeven.”Hence,itcitedBitcoin’srecentperformance,whichsawa99.7%increaseinpricefromthepreviousyear,asevidenceofitsresilienceasastoreofvalue. WithMicroStrategy’srecentstocksurgetoa25-yearhighat$234.44,BitcoinadvocatesseetheproposalasanopportunityforMicrosofttofollowtheMSTRlead.However,Microsoft’sBoardmembershaveadvisedshareholderstodisapprovetheproposal.Inaddition,anti-cryptoVanguardownsaround9%ofthecompanystock,whichcouldinfluencethedecisionnegatively.Nevertheless,themarketawaitstheshareholders’decision. cryptonewsz.com