Microsoft places 'assessment in investing in bitcoin' as a voting item for December shareholder meeting

Microsoft is apparently considering investing in bitcoin, according to a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing on Thursday. The company put the topic as a "voting item" on its next shareholder meeting scheduled for Dec. 10.

The "Assessment in Investing in Bitcoin" appears to have been proposed by The National Center for Public Policy Research, a conservative think tank. The organization serves on the advisory board to Project 2025, which advocates for an extremely conservative policy agenda. 

Included beneath the proposal is the language "The Board recommends a vote AGAINST this proposal." In the SEC filing, Microsoft noted the board deems the proposal "unnecessary" as the firm's management "already carefully considers this topic."

"Microsoft’s Global Treasury and Investment Services team evaluates a wide range of investable assets to fund Microsoft’s ongoing operations, including assets expected to provide diversification and inflation protection, and to mitigate the risk of significant economic loss from rising interest rates," the firm wrote in the Notice of Annual Shareholders Meeting and Proxy Statement 2024. "Past evaluations have included Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies among the options considered, and Microsoft continues to monitor trends and developments related to cryptocurrencies to inform future decision making."

The firm also noted that volatility "is a factor to consider in evaluating cryptocurrency investments" and that it already has "processes in place to manage and diversify its corporate treasury."

Microsoft (ticker: MSFT) is the third largest tech firm in the United States with a market capitalization of $3.157 trillion. If the proposal were to pass, the firm would be the biggest publicly-traded crypto investor, pulling ahead of MicroStrategy and Tesla. 

Under securities law, eligible stockholders who own a certain amount of equity can propose items to be voted on at a shareholder meeting, including changes in the corporation's operations or policies and other corporate actions. The final decision on those proposals is typically made by a majority vote of the shareholders, not the board of directors. 

Bitcoin currently trades at $68,526.52 after seeing a 3.04% in the past 24 hours, according to The Block Prices.

The Block reached out to Microsoft for comment.