Shareholders of Amazon ( AMZN ) have submitted a proposal to add Bitcoin to the balance sheet. The shareholders of the e-commerce giant are urging the company to learn from MicroStrategy ( MSTR ), which heavily invested in Bitcoin, resulting in an increase in its share price.
“MicroStrategy – which holds Bitcoin on its balance sheet – has had its stock outperform Amazon stock by 537% in the previous year,” according to a shareholder proposal shared by conservative think tank t he National Center for Public Policy Research (NCPPR) .
“At minimum, Amazon should evaluate the benefits of holding some, even just 5%, of its assets in Bitcoin,” the proposal added.
The proposal comes at a time when shareholders of tech giant Microsoft ( MSFT ) are set to vote on Tuesday on whether to invest in Bitcoin. As of this writing, Bitcoin is currently around $99,000 after surpassing the historic $100,000 milestone.
The U.S. government may make a Bitcoin reserve, says think tank
The think tank highlighted several institutional and corporate examples to illustrate why Amazon should consider investing in Bitcoin. It pointed to public companies like Tesla ( TSLA ) and Block ( SQ ), which have already added Bitcoin to their balance sheets. Furthermore, the think tank noted that Amazon’s second and fourth largest institutional shareholders, BlackRock ( BLK ) and Fidelity, have launched Bitcoin ETFs, signaling growing confidence in the cryptocurrency’s potential.
Additionally, it suggested that even the U.S. government might establish a Bitcoin strategic reserve as early as 2025, underscoring the increasing mainstream acceptance of Bitcoin as a strategic asset.
Even if Bitcoin is volatile, accept it
The think tank emphasized the importance of diversifying Amazon’s holdings, even considering Bitcoin’s volatility. According to the proposal, as of September 30, 2024, Amazon’s total assets amounted to $585 billion, with $88 billion held in cash, cash equivalents, and bonds.
“Since cash is consistently being debased and bond yields are lower than the true nation rate, Amazon isn’t adequately protecting billions of dollars of shareholder value simply by holding these assets,” said NCPPR .
The think tank argued that Bitcoin outperforms bonds as an investment. As of December 6, 2024, Bitcoin’s price had risen by 131% over the past year, surpassing corporate bonds, which saw an average increase of just 5%, per the proposal. This performance highlights Bitcoin’s potential as a more lucrative alternative to traditional bond investments.
Whether or not Amazon decided to add Bitcoin, that’s in the future. However, the way its shareholders have argued in favor of Bitcoin represents how the perception of Bitcoin has changed over the years and how it is getting accepted and becoming more mainstream with each passing day.
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