Michael Saylor, co-founder and executive chairman of MicroStrategy, will present a Bitcoin investment strategy to Microsoft’s board of directors, advocating the world’s largest cryptocurrency as a treasury investment.
On Nov 19 Twitter space discussion organized by Bitcoin ETF publisher VanEck, the Bitcoin maximalist, has announced that it has agreed to give a brief three-minute presentation to Microsoft leadership.
The pitch comes amid a shareholder proposal calling on Microsoft to assess Bitcoin’s potential impact on its balance sheet.
“The activist who drafted that proposal contacted me to present it to the board, and I agreed to give a three-minute presentation,” Saylor said. “That’s all you’re allowed to do – and I’m going to present it to the board of directors”
Saylor, a staunch supporter of Bitcoin, criticized companies with large cash reserves for “burning shareholder value,” during yesterday’s Twitter space discussion.
According to him, Bitcoin can bring great stability to company value. “It would be a much more stable stock and a much less risky stock if half of the stock’s enterprise value were based on tangible assets or property like Bitcoin,” he stated.
Saylor, who led MicroStrategy to become the largest corporate Bitcoin holder with 252,220 BTC worth $16.8 billion, believes Bitcoin is a necessary asset for companies with large cash reserves.
He said during the discussion that his earlier request for a private meeting with Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella to discuss the topic has not yet been fulfilled.
In October, Saylor directly addressed Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said on Twitter: “If you want to make the next trillion dollars for $MSFT shareholders, call me.”
Microsoft shareholders are planned to vote on whether the company should conduct a formal review of Bitcoin as an investment on December 10.
The National Center for Public Policy Research (NCPPR) introduced the proposal last month, citing MicroStrategy’s success with Bitcoin. MicroStrategy’s shares have outperformed Microsoft’s by 313% this year, even though the company operates on a much smaller scale.
“MicroStrategy, like Microsoft, is a technology company, but unlike Microsoft, it holds Bitcoin on its balance sheet,” NCPPR said in the proposal.
Despite shareholder pressure and Saylor’s advocacy, Microsoft’s board recommended voting against the proposal.
Microsoft claims it is already evaluating a wide range of investment options, including Bitcoin. The company’s stock price traded relatively modestly on Wednesday, rising 0.49% to $417.79, data from Google Finance shows.
Edited by Stacy Elliott.
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