Meta Investors Reject the Bitcoin Backing Proposal and Endorse AI Investment Instead
Meta Platforms will not add Bitcoin to its corporate treasury after shareholders rejected a proposal that encourages the addition of Bitcoin. According to a May 28 filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the proposal received 99.92% negative votes at its last annual meeting, with only 0.08% supporting it. Almost 5 billion votes were recorded against the proposal.
Bitcoin proponent Ethan Peck made the suggestion, which went through to Meta, to consider investing part of its $72 billion cash in Bitcoin. His argument enunciated that Bitcoin could be a hedge against inflation due to its fixed supply and a history of significant returns in a low bond yield environment. The motion was made by Peck, who represents the conservative think tank National Center for Public Policy Research, using his family’s shares. Peck has also contacted Microsoft and Amazon for similar pleas.
How many people will know that Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg controls 61% of the vote at the company? Although Zuckerberg has not said anything publicly about it, many believe his stance was critical in this deal failing.
Meta’s widespread rejection shows how cautious Meta is about adopting this technology, even as it experiments with stablecoins for creators’ payments. Critics were quick to point out that while companies like GameStop, MicroStrategy, and Sweden-based health-tech firm H100 are betting on Bitcoin, Meta is taking a financially conservative stance.
Meta’s stock jumped 3.6% on news that the company plans to implement a fully AI-driven engine for ads by 2026. This shows the growing efforts by Meta, which is looking for a more dependable long-term play in AI than volatile crypto. Meta got the thumbs-up amid many stalwarts getting the thumbs-down vote.
Some people think that Meta’s decision is a missed opportunity for the company to not become reliable in the future. However, others view it as a step toward more sustainability. As more firms ponder over the nature of the role of crypto in corporate finance, Meta’s decision highlights the disparity between tech firms that are backing Bitcoin and those not so much.
