Meta shareholders have overwhelmingly rejected a proposal to add Bitcoin to the company’s corporate treasury, with an SEC filing indicating less than one percent of votes favored the move. This decisive May 2025 vote underscores significant investor wariness about integrating volatile cryptocurrencies into the financial strategies of major tech firms.
The plan, Proposal 13 on Meta’s 2025 ballot, was submitted in January by Ethan Peck of the National Center for Public Policy Research. It urged Meta to evaluate converting a portion of its $72 billion in cash and short-term investments (as of September 30, 2024) into Bitcoin, arguing this would hedge against inflation and preserve shareholder value.
Proponents also highlighted increasing institutional Bitcoin adoption. However, Meta’s board of directors stated their belief that the proposal was “unnecessary given our existing processes to manage our corporate treasury.” The proposal received just 3.92 million shares in favor versus 4.98 billion against, with over 8.8 million abstentions.
Board Cites Existing Processes, Shareholder Stability Concerns
Backers of the Meta proposal, including Strive Asset Management CEO Matt Cole who quipped, “You’ve already taken step one — you named your goat Bitcoin,” addressing Mark Zuckerberg directly. His statement “Now it’s time to take step two” pointed to perceived informal interest from Meta’s leadership, such as Mark Zuckerberg naming “Bitcoin” a “goat” (greatest of all time).
Yet, the company is reportedly prioritizing its push into artificial intelligence over cryptocurrency investments. Shareholders opposing the move cited Bitcoin’s price volatility and uncertain regulatory landscape as key risks.
Meta’s board clarified that their existing treasury management processes are sufficient, without opining on Bitcoin’s merits as an investment. This sentiment of caution mirrors actions at other tech giants. Peck had also unsuccessfully lobbied Microsoft and Amazon for similar Bitcoin considerations.
Microsoft Investors Previously Rejected Similar Bitcoin Plan
In a comparable case, Microsoft shareholders rejected a proposal in December 2024 to consider Bitcoin as a corporate treasury asset. That initiative, also backed by Bitcoin advocate Michael Saylor and the National Center for Public Policy Research, faced opposition from Microsoft’s board and proxy advisory firms due to Bitcoin’s volatility.
Microsoft’s board, in its October 2024 proxy filing explained that its global treasury team already evaluates a wide range of assets for operational funding and diversification.
The company’s filing emphasized that “corporate treasury applications require stable and predictable investments to ensure liquidity and operational funding.” Despite Saylor’s strong advocacy, including a direct appeal to CEO Satya Nadella, and asserting that “Microsoft can’t afford to miss the next wave of technological innovation, and Bitcoin is that wave,” the proposal failed to gain significant shareholder support at Microsoft.
Tech’s Cautious Dance with Digital Assets
While Microsoft has engaged with blockchain technology for years, including early Bitcoin payment acceptance for some digital content and launching, then retiring, its Azure Blockchain Service, this has not translated into holding Bitcoin as a treasury asset.
The company even updated its Universal License Terms for Online Services in December 2022 to explicitly prohibit cryptocurrency mining on its Azure cloud platform without prior written approval. This decision reflected environmental concerns and a focus on responsible cloud resource use.
Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates has been a vocal critic of Bitcoin, calling it a “greater fool theory” investment. This contrasts with Tesla’s notable $1.5 billion Bitcoin investment in early 2021, a move that, while generating market buzz, has not spurred widespread adoption among other major tech corporations.
The shareholder decisions at both Meta and Microsoft signal a prevailing preference for financial stability over the speculative nature of cryptocurrency reserves. Interestingly, Meta has recently shown interest in stablecoins for global payouts, according to a Forbes report mentioned by Bitget News.
