Meta Platforms shareholders delivered a resounding rejection to a proposal that would have seen the social media giant evaluate adding Bitcoin to its corporate treasury, with less than 1% of votes cast in favor of the measure during the company’s annual meeting this week.
The lopsided outcome underscores the continued resistance among major technology corporations to embrace cryptocurrency as a treasury asset, despite growing institutional adoption elsewhere in the market.
The proposal, submitted by investor Ethan Peck of the National Center for Public Policy Research, called for Meta to assess whether converting a portion of its massive $72 billion cash reserves into Bitcoin could better preserve shareholder value amid persistent inflation and historically low bond returns.
Peck argued that Bitcoin’s fixed supply cap and substantial price appreciation over recent years positioned it as a superior hedge against currency debasement compared to traditional treasury instruments.
According to SEC filings, nearly 5 billion Meta shares were voted against the Bitcoin assessment proposal, while fewer than four million shares supported the measure. An additional 8.9 million shares were recorded as abstentions, with approximately 205 million shares counting as broker non-votes.
The rejection comes despite what proponents characterized as informal signals of crypto interest from Meta’s leadership, including CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s decision to name his pet goats “Bitcoin” and “Max,” and board member Marc Andreessen’s position on Coinbase’s board of directors.
Meta’s Board Position
Meta’s board of directors unanimously opposed the Bitcoin assessment proposal, characterizing the requested evaluation as unnecessary given the company’s existing treasury management processes.
In their official response, directors emphasized that Meta already maintains comprehensive procedures for evaluating diverse investment opportunities while prioritizing capital preservation and operational liquidity requirements.
The board’s position reflects broader concerns within the technology sector about Bitcoin’s volatility profile and regulatory uncertainty. Unlike traditional treasury assets such as government bonds and high-grade corporate securities, Bitcoin experiences significant price fluctuations that could impact quarterly earnings and balance sheet stability.
Additionally, the evolving regulatory landscape surrounding digital assets creates potential compliance risks that many corporate boards prefer to avoid.
Meta Stablecoin Strategy Eyed
While rejecting Bitcoin for treasury purposes, Meta appears increasingly interested in stablecoin technology for operational applications. Industry reports indicate the company has engaged in preliminary discussions with cryptocurrency infrastructure partners about implementing stablecoin-based solutions for global employee payouts and cross-border transactions.
This strategic pivot toward stablecoins represents a more measured approach to cryptocurrency integration, offering the efficiency benefits of digital assets without the price volatility that makes Bitcoin unsuitable for corporate treasury applications.
Stablecoins, which maintain fixed values relative to traditional currencies like the US dollar, could enable Meta to reduce transaction costs and processing times for international operations while avoiding the regulatory scrutiny associated with more speculative cryptocurrencies.
Meta’s rejection of Bitcoin treasury adoption aligns with similar decisions at other major technology companies, including Microsoft and Amazon, where the National Center for Public Policy Research has unsuccessfully promoted comparable proposals.