Meta Declines Bitcoin Investment After Shareholders Vote

• Meta shareholders rejected a proposal to explore holding Bitcoin, with nearly 5 billion votes against the idea.
• While firms like GameStop and MicroStrategy add Bitcoin, Meta continues to favor traditional cash reserves.

A recent Meta shareholder vote revealed that nearly all investors opposed exploring a Bitcoin treasury strategy. The decision follows a formal proposal submitted earlier this year that suggested allocating some of the company’s cash reserves to Bitcoin as a hedge against inflation.

Shareholders Firmly Oppose Bitcoin Treasury Proposal

In a previous article, we discussed Meta shareholders pushing Mark Zuckerberg to explore Bitcoin as a treasury reserve asset for financial resilience.

According to a regulatory filing dated May 28, only 3.92 million votes, about 0.08% of the total, supported the proposal. According to the update, close to 5 billion votes were cast against it. 

The scale of opposition made it clear that investors did not favor the plan to move some of Meta’s $72 billion in cash and cash equivalents into Bitcoin.

It is worth noting that Mark Zuckerberg, Meta’s CEO, holds 61% of the company’s voting power through a dual-class share structure. Though not officially confirmed, this voting power suggests that Zuckerberg opposed the proposal. 

The suggestion came from Ethan Peck, a Bitcoin advocate and Director at Strive Asset Management. He argued that cash was steadily losing value and claimed Bitcoin could protect Meta’s assets in the long term.

Peck pointed out that Meta’s second-largest shareholder, BlackRock, had previously stated that a 2% allocation to Bitcoin could be reasonable. He used this to support his case, though it did not sway the broader shareholder base. The proposal was filed on behalf of his family’s stake in the company.

Other Tech Giants and Public Firms Take Different Paths

Peck has made proposals similar to those of other major tech firms, including Microsoft and Amazon. Microsoft rejected the idea in a December vote, and Amazon’s shareholders have yet to decide on a proposal to allocate at least 5% of the company’s assets to Bitcoin.

While Meta and Microsoft have dismissed Bitcoin treasury plans, several public companies have moved ahead, according to data from BitcoinTreasuries. NET shows 116 firms now hold Bitcoin on their balance sheets. In a recent update, we covered that GameStop purchased 4,710 Bitcoin units to add to its balance sheet, valued at nearly $513 million.

As highlighted in a recent report, Metaplanet is said to be raising $50 million through a private placement of zero-interest bonds to acquire more Bitcoin (BTC). The company recently made one of its most significant single purchases, adding 1,004 Bitcoins to its holdings.

It is essential to state that MicroStrategy remains the most significant corporate holder with 580,250 Bitcoin units on its balance sheet. Interestingly, Strategy Chairman, Michael Saylor, as reported by CNF, posited that Bitcoin would become a global powerhouse and predicted a $280 trillion valuation for the leading coin.

Still, companies like Tesla and Marathon Digital Holdings follow Strategy on the list of leading corporate Bitcoin accumulators. Despite this, Meta’s leadership and shareholders prefer a more traditional financial strategy.