Meta Won’t Add Bitcoin To Balance Sheet As Shareholders Strongly Reject Treasury Proposal

Shareholders of Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta have voted against a proposal to consider adding Bitcoin to the company’s balance sheet.

According to a May 28 filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, an eye-popping 4.9 billion votes were cast in opposition while 3.92 million — a mere 0.08% of the total — supported the proposal.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg controls 61% of the company’s voting power, an April regulatory statement reveals, which could mean that he voted down the idea.

The proposal, submitted in January by Bitcoin champion Ethan Peck, representing the National Center for Public Policy Research (NCPPR), asked Meta to convert a portion of its $72 billion in excess cash and cash equivalents into the apex crypto to better preserve shareholder value. The measure touted Bitcoin, with its fixed supply and strong past performance compared to bonds, as a more reliable long-term store of value.

Peck claimed that the tech giant should treat the largest crypto as a strategic reserve asset, similar to a corporate war chest designed to endure monetary policy uncertainty. He also pointed out that Meta’s second-largest shareholder, BlackRock, advised that a 2% Bitcoin allocation is reasonable.

While Meta doesn’t want to hold crypto on its balance sheet, the firm has previously dipped its toes into blockchain. In June 2019, it unveiled Libra, a global stablecoin project backed by a basket of fiat currencies. That project collapsed in 2022 after unwelcome regulatory scrutiny and internal wrangles, rebranding briefly as Diem before shutting down and selling assets to crypto bank Silvergate.

Peck also submitted similar Bitcoin treasury proposals to Microsoft and Amazon on behalf of the conservative think tank NCPPR. Microsoft shareholders voted against the plan in December, while Amazon shareholders are awaiting a vote on whether to put at least 5% of the company’s assets into Bitcoin.

Bitcoin Treasury Frenzy

Though Bitcoin treasury proposals were rejected by Meta and Microsoft, global publicly listed companies continue accumulating the flagship crypto.

Data tracked by Bitcoin Treasuries shows that over 115 public companies have added Bitcoin to their balance sheets, with one of the newest entrants being GameStop.

Michael Saylor’s Strategy leads all publicly traded firms with 580,955 BTC, worth over $60 billion, while eight others, including Marathon Digital Holdings and Elon Musk’s Tesla, each hold roughly $1 billion worth of Bitcoin.