Meta’s Bitcoin rejection means Big Tech is still skeptical

Strategy became the archetypal publically traded institution to follow Bitcoin arsenic its superior treasury reserve plus successful August 2020, but not galore large tech firms person followed since. 

Treasury reserves, sometimes called currency reserves, are held by corporations to money short-term oregon exigency obligations. These are typically currency oregon currency equivalents similar wealth marketplace funds oregon three-month US Treasury bills.

The societal media elephantine Meta keeps $72 cardinal successful liquid assets successful its reserve. But astatine its yearly gathering connected May 28, shareholders turned back a connection to measure whether Bitcoin (BTC) mightiness suffice arsenic a aboriginal treasury reserve asset. The connection was dismissed by a ratio of 1,221 to 1.

That rejection successful itself is not truthful surprising. Despite increasing firm Bitcoin adoption, Big Tech and astir mainstream corporations stay cautious. US tech elephantine Microsoft besides voted down akin proposals successful December 2024.

Meta’s failed Bitcoin proposal, rejected by an overwhelming majority, raises questions astir organization readiness to follow crypto.

How Bitcoin tin code firm treasury risk. Source: Fidelity Investments

Bitcoin’s volatility weakens its treasury plus case

This could each conscionable beryllium a misunderstanding. Crypto partisans whitethorn person failed to recognize that firm treasuries are much similar exigency funds: to beryllium utilized successful the lawsuit of earthy disasters oregon pandemics oregon to enactment day-to-day concern operations, but not arsenic a level for speculative investing, said New York University prof Aswath Damodaran.

“I deliberation it is lunacy,” helium told Cointelegraph, discussing the caller Meta connection enactment distant by Bitcoin advocator Ethan Peck. Damodaran said that helium couldn’t deliberation of “a semblance of a crushed for wherefore this is simply a bully idea.” 

Related: Michael Saylor teases caller Bitcoin bargain aft $1B banal offering

Damodaran has a estimation arsenic a crypto skeptic. But adjacent Duke University concern professor.

Campbell Harvey, who has written a publication connected decentralized finance and is mostly affirmative astir the aboriginal of blockchain technology, was dismissive of the Bitcoin treasury initiative, telling Cointelegraph:

“If Meta investors privation to ain Bitcoin, they tin bargain it themselves. It is not wide what relation cryptos play successful immoderate treasury relation unless the institution is doing concern successful a crypto similar Bitcoin.”

Stablecoins properly suffice arsenic a treasury reserve, arsenic they are typically liquid and pegged to an underlying asset, specified arsenic the US dollar, Harvey said, comparing Bitcoin to a highly volatile instrumentality that isn’t suitable for firm reserves. 

Strategy’s palmy Bitcoin blueprint has inspired different companies to leap connected the bandwagon, Harvey suggested. Strategy’s MSTR has notched a 2,466% banal summation since the tech institution made BTC its superior reserve asset, outperforming companies similar Nvidia, Tesla, Google and Microsoft. 

“But Strategy has stake the institution successful transforming itself into an progressive Bitcoin fund,” said Harvey, adding: 

“If a institution wants to marque a strategical concern successful Bitcoin conscionable similar they mightiness marque a strategical concern successful a startup, I person nary occupation with that. It is simply a risky task investment, and companies bash this each the time. Just don’t telephone this a treasury asset.”

Still, the Metas of the satellite often clasp billions of dollars successful their currency reserves, and that wealth is often conscionable parked there, earning small interest. For nonrecreational investors, that’s thing similar a sin. 

“Meta is sitting with billions successful currency constantly,” David Tawil, president and co-founder of ProChain Capital, told Cointelegraph. “They’re ever holding cash.” They’d beryllium amended disconnected putting immoderate of it successful Bitcoin, some for diversification purposes, but besides to insulate them against an inflating dollar.

James Butterfill, caput of probe astatine integer plus concern steadfast CoinShares, told Cointelegraph that a 3% Bitcoin allocation tin treble a fund’s Sharpe ratio, a gauge utilized to measure risk-adjusted performance.

CoinShares’ ain survey, which tracks $1 trillion successful assets nether absorption (AUM), shows that the mean integer plus allocation roseate to 1.8% successful April 2025 from 1% successful October 2024. “The gait of adoption is accelerating faster than we had anticipated,” Butterfill added.

Sign of a much cautious Bitcoin approach

Meta’s shareholder ballot whitethorn bespeak a broader consciousness of caution among mainstream firm and organization investors erstwhile it comes to Bitcoin. But CEO Mark Zuckerberg controls 61% of Meta’s voting power, truthful this isn’t needfully a typical illustration of firm America. 

Stefan Padfield, enforcement manager of the Free Enterprise Project astatine the National Center for Public Policy Research, told Cointelegraph that firm boards and managers are apt arsenic divided connected Bitcoin arsenic economists and politicians, “so it’s not astonishing that we’re seeing firms — including tech firms — instrumentality differing positions connected the ‘none-some-lots’ spectrum erstwhile it comes to Bitcoin.”

And possibly determination is little present than meets the eye. Padfield added:

“While the connection is simply requesting information of Bitcoin, it whitethorn inactive beryllium rejected simply due to the fact that managers and investors don’t privation to beryllium told what to bash successful this space.”

Meanwhile, immoderate of the world’s largest plus managers similar Fidelity and BlackRock person warmed to crypto. BlackRock precocious recommended that investors see putting up to 2% of their portfolio successful Bitcoin for diversification.

Bitcoin treasury initiatives person been ramping up globally. On June 3, Paris-based Blockchain Group announced that it added $68 cardinal successful Bitcoin to its firm treasury. Then connected June 4, Korea’s K Wave Media announced plans to rise $500 cardinal to acquisition Bitcoin successful what it described arsenic a “treasury strategy.”

At slightest 72 caller companies person adopted Bitcoin this year, Butterfill said, though “many of these moves look to beryllium driven much by a tendency to flatter their banal prices alternatively than a genuine content successful the semipermanent worth of holding Bitcoin connected the equilibrium sheet.” A genuinely strategical allocation requires a semipermanent mindset, helium pointed out.

But what astir large corporations whose halfway concern has thing to bash with crypto oregon blockchain technology? So far, Tesla stands unsocial among this group, noted Butterfill, adding:

“Given existent trends, it’s apt that we’ll yet spot a large large-cap institution adhd Bitcoin to its equilibrium sheet.”

Edit the caption present oregon region the text

The 10 largest Bitcoin holding companies worldwide. Source: Bitbo

Still, returning to Meta, the 1,221:1 rejection ratio was alternatively emphatic, no?

Meta shareholders whitethorn person overreacted to Bitcoin’s alleged volatility, suggested Butterfill. “Bitcoin has exhibited consistently little volatility than Meta for implicit 2 months now, and this inclination holds crossed the FAANG stocks much broadly,” helium said. 

Padfield added, “I’m ever acrophobic that radical work excessively overmuch into debased [proxy] ballot counts. In this case, it whitethorn simply beryllium a reflection of a tendency to debar being ‘forced’ to see Bitcoin than a rejection of Bitcoin itself.”

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