Original Title: Bitcoin as corporate treasury: Why Meta, Amazon and Microsoft all said no

Original Author: Marcel Deer, Cointelegraph

Translated by: Asher, Odaily Planet Daily

Editor's Note: Bitcoin, as an emerging digital asset, is gradually being considered by some companies as an alternative financial reserve asset, attracting considerable attention. However, its price volatility, regulatory uncertainty, and risks such as potential dilution of shareholder value have led most large companies to adopt a cautious stance. Tech giants such as Meta, Amazon, and Microsoft have all explicitly rejected establishing a Bitcoin reserve, prioritizing financial stability and business continuity.

In contrast, the company Strategy has actively embraced Bitcoin, leveraging its upside potential to achieve significant stock price growth, but also taking on greater risks. Overall, companies are generally balancing innovation and risk, with only a few companies experimenting with Bitcoin financial strategies in the short term. The future development still depends on further clarification of the regulatory and market environment.

Key Logic Behind Corporate Bitcoin Reserves

When a company holds Bitcoin on its balance sheet, it is referred to as Corporate Bitcoin Treasury. Unlike holding only traditional financial assets and cash, some companies also view Bitcoin as an alternative store of value or investment strategy. Converting cash reserves into cryptocurrency is a new change in corporate financial strategy. In recent years, this concept has received significant media attention, especially Strategy's continued expansion of Bitcoin reserves, sparking widespread discussion.

Currently, more and more companies are considering moving funds from traditional "safe assets" to this more volatile category of digital assets, with the most optimistic forecasters suggesting that the price of Bitcoin could range from $130,000 to $1.5 million.

However, on the other hand, establishing a corporate cryptocurrency strategy also means that companies need to take on significant risks. Traditional financial management emphasizes capital preservation, while Bitcoin's financial management will introduce speculative and volatile elements into the balance sheet. Matthew Sigel, Digital Assets Head at VanEck, cautioned that companies actively raising funds to buy Bitcoin, like Metaplanet, may transition from "strategic growth" to "shareholder dilution." Once a company's stock price merely aligns with net asset value, issuing more shares to buy Bitcoin ceases to be a strategic move and becomes value erosion.

In other words, if a company's stock is no longer trading at a premium, then purchasing Bitcoin through stock issuance would dilute shareholder value rather than increase company assets, which is a dangerous signal for investors. Therefore, how a company manages its capital reserves will directly impact enterprise valuation and its ability to withstand economic downturns. For publicly traded companies, introducing a Bitcoin financial strategy also requires shareholder support, with large tech companies such as Meta, Amazon, and Microsoft recently putting forth similar ideas.

Meta, Amazon, and Microsoft's Stance on Bitcoin Financial Strategy

Shareholders of Microsoft, Amazon, and Meta have all explicitly voted against the proposal to establish a strategic Bitcoin reserve. At Meta's 2025 Annual Shareholder Meeting, shareholders strongly opposed the establishment of a Bitcoin reserve, with over 90% of shareholders voting against the proposal. The proposal suggested that Meta consider converting a portion of its $720 billion cash reserves into Bitcoin, and here are the results of the vote:

· For Votes (3,916,871 votes): Number of shareholders supporting Meta's introduction of a Bitcoin reserve;

· Against Votes (4,980,828,562 votes): Shareholders strongly against the proposal, representing an overwhelming majority;

· Abstention Votes (8,857,588 votes): Shareholders who chose not to take a stance, abstention votes are not counted in the results;

· Broker Non-votes (204,772,865 votes): Shares held by brokers but for which no voting instructions were received, brokers cannot vote on certain proposals without client authorization.

Therefore, nearly 5 billion votes opposed the proposal, with Meta shareholders staunchly rejecting the inclusion of Bitcoin in the company's balance sheet.

Nevertheless, Bitcoin supporters continue to emphasize its scarcity and long-term store of value advantages. At the 2025 "Bitcoin Conference" in Las Vegas, Strive Asset Management CEO Matt Cole urged Mark Zuckerberg to support the proposal and jokingly said, "You've already taken the first step by naming your goat 'Bitcoin,' I implore you to take the second step and formulate a bold corporate Bitcoin financial strategy." However, in the end, the proposal received support of less than 1%. The board had previously recommended rejecting the proposal, stating, "We are not evaluating whether crypto assets are superior to other assets, but given our existing corporate financial management processes, the board believes this assessment is unnecessary."

This move puts Meta in line with Amazon and Microsoft, as these three tech giants had previously rejected the proposal to shift company reserves to Bitcoin. They all chose to steer clear of the volatility risk in the cryptocurrency space and stick to a financially prudent strategic direction.

Why Have Tech Giants Rejected Bitcoin?

Meta's board of directors and shareholders have listed several reasons for rejecting a Bitcoin financial strategy, mainly including risk, regulatory uncertainty, and business focus considerations:

· Volatility Concerns: Bitcoin remains an asset with significant price volatility. Incorporating it into the company's balance sheet could lead to substantial fluctuations in the company's earnings and financial position. For traditional investors, this financial planning uncertainty is a major concern;

· Regulatory Uncertainty: Crypto assets still lack a clear and unified regulatory framework. With laws and tax policies constantly changing, introducing additional compliance risks for publicly traded companies;

· Business Focus: Shareholders of large tech companies prefer to maintain business predictability and stability. Against the backdrop of accelerated AI and digital transformation, both the tech and crypto industries are rapidly evolving. Companies generally want to focus on their core business and avoid distractions from speculative assets;

· Fiduciary Responsibility: Companies must balance innovation with shareholder responsibility. From a legal perspective, firms are obligated to manage assets responsibly, and since many view Bitcoin as a speculative asset, there is a conflict with the company's fiduciary duty. Due to cautious consideration of legal risks, boards commonly tend to take a "wait-and-see" approach.

Strategy Stands Out in Bitcoin Financial Strategy

Since 2020, Strategy has accumulated over 500,000 Bitcoins, with a total investment exceeding $33 billion (calculated at an average price of $66,279 per Bitcoin). This U.S. company was originally known for its business intelligence services, and while this remains its core business, due to its expanding Bitcoin reserves, Strategy has been seen since 2020 as a "Bitcoin proxy target." Chairman Michael Saylor stated, "We have now shifted our focus to a Bitcoin acquisition strategy, and the impact of this strategy is significant: on December 23, 2024, Strategy successfully joined the Nasdaq 100 Index, becoming a flagship enterprise in the digital asset space."

As of June 2025, Strategy held over 2% of the total Bitcoin supply, sparking widespread media attention. With the continuous rise in the price of Bitcoin at the end of 2024 and the beginning of 2025, Strategy's stock price and company valuation also soared. By June 12, 2025, Strategy's (MSTR) stock price had skyrocketed 3,180% in five years, from $11 to $387, with its price performance highly correlated with Bitcoin's trend, allowing shareholders to gain a similar exposure to direct holdings. However, this high correlation also means that investors need to face the high risk brought by the intense volatility of the crypto market. Strategy's case demonstrates the significant upside potential of transforming a company through a Bitcoin financial strategy — it's just that this radical path is not a risk most companies are willing to take.

Prospects for Corporate Adoption of Bitcoin Reserves

Tech giants like Meta, Amazon, and Microsoft are currently still focused on their core businesses. At least in the short term, they are still awaiting a clearer regulatory framework for crypto assets and a more predictable risk environment, and until then, these companies are unlikely to take aggressive financial actions.

Up to now, a Bitcoin financial strategy remains an exception rather than the norm. The shareholder veto of the proposal at Meta indicates that this concept still appears more like hype than reality, even in the face of potential returns. Even innovative companies are unwilling to take on the significant risks of volatility and strategic diversification. U.S. tech giants are generally cautious and have not followed Strategy's practice of using Bitcoin as a reserve asset but continue to adhere to traditional, secure financial management practices.

The core principles of corporate financial management — risk minimization, liquidity assurance, and alignment with operational needs — are at odds with high-volatility assets like Bitcoin. The price of Bitcoin can fluctuate by over 50% within a few months, far beyond the tolerance of most corporate finance departments. Therefore, companies like Meta, Amazon, and Microsoft still concentrate their financial reserves on cash equivalents, short-term securities, and diversified assets to align with their core business strategies. Even in innovative companies, crypto assets are more often seen as a burden than an advantage. In 2024, several companies related to the crypto industry collapsed one after another, coupled with continued scrutiny from the U.S. SEC and global regulatory agencies, further reinforcing the conservative stance of enterprises.

Until a clearer regulatory framework, accounting standards, and custody solutions are established, Bitcoin as a corporate reserve asset will remain an experiment for very few companies. In the short term, supporters hoping for Bitcoin to be widely included in the corporate balance sheet may need to be patient. Because for most Chief Financial Officers, their performance evaluation criteria focus on the stability of assets, not the speculative nature of assets.

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