Microsoft shareholders reject proposal to add bitcoin to reserves

Microsoft shareholders voted to reject a resolution to add Bitcoin to the company’s balance sheet during its annual meeting on Tuesday.

The resolution was proposed by the National Center for Public Policy Research (NCPPR), a pro-free-market think tank based in Washington, D.C. The NCPPR framed the initiative as a corporate responsibility to diversify profits and enhance shareholder value.

As part of the proposal, a pre-recorded video was presented during the meeting. The video opened with the statement, “Microsoft can’t afford to miss the next technology wave, and bitcoin is that wave." The decision to reject the proposal aligns with the board’s recommendation, which emphasized Microsoft’s existing strategy of evaluating a wide range of investable assets, including bitcoin , within its broader investment framework.

Microsoft’s history with bitcoin has been cautious. The company briefly accepted the cryptocurrency as a payment method in 2014 but suspended the option in 2016, citing low usage and regulatory uncertainties. Today's result aligns with the views of Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, who has been a vocal critic of cryptocurrencies.

Bitcoin experienced a 3% pullback over the past 24 hours, adding to broader uncertainty in the cryptocurrency market. The global cryptocurrency market cap declined by almost 5% in the same period, now standing at $3.73 trillion, according to CoinGecko data .