Despite its notorious volatility and lack of regulation, the crypto sector appears to be gaining traction within the global investment community. By December, software giant Microsoft is expected to finalise its stance on adding Bitcoin to its balance sheets. Currently, the company is inviting shareholder feedback to gauge support for exploring Bitcoin investments. This development comes just weeks ahead of Microsoft’s 2024 Annual Shareholder’s Meeting.
The Redmond, Washington-based company submitted a filing to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) this week, that revealed this development. The document shows that the company board members have ‘recommended’ the voters to vote against Microsoft assessing Bitcoin investments.
Bitcoin was founded in 2009 by its anonymous creator famed by the pseudo name, Satoshi Nakamoto. Around October 2009, BTC was priced $0.0009 (roughly Rs. 0.076). Over the course of the last 15 years, BTC’s value has touched the mark of $73,738 (roughly Rs. 69.9 lakh). As of Friday, October 25, BTC was trading at $67,767 (roughly Rs. 56.9 lakh) with its total market cap standing at a whopping $1.34 trillion (roughly Rs. 1,12,66,679 crore).
Despite its significant market presence, Bitcoin remains highly volatile amid macro- and microeconomic shifts, posing substantial investment risks. Microsoft’s decision to seek stakeholder input on Bitcoin investments suggests that the crypto sector is increasingly capturing the interest of institutional investors.
In the past, Microsoft has dabbled with the crypto and Web3 space but has not added Bitcoin or any other crypto to its balance sheets.
In 2022, the company was scouting for a “Director of Business Development- Cryptocurrencies” indicating that it was exploring blockchain technologies. The same year, Microsoft invested in the ConsenSys blockchain firm.
Meanwhile, in 2023, reports suggested that Microsoft’s Edge browser could see an inbuilt Ethereum wallet.
In the past, Elon Musk’s Tesla and Micheal Saylor’s MicroStrategy have etched their names among highly valued companies with investments allocated to cryptocurrencies.