Microsoft proposes investing in Bitcoin: Vanguard, Blackrock, and others to decide

In a document filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), tech giant Microsoft revealed it’s considering a proposal to invest in Bitcoin. 

Microsoft precisely disclosed that the “Assessment of Investing in Bitcoin” is currently proposed and will be voted on during the shareholder meeting on December 10. However, the firm further stated in the filing that “the Board recommends a vote against this proposal.”

Vanguard and Blackrock are among Microsoft’s shareholders

Vanguard is the largest institutional shareholder of Microsoft equity at 9%, followed by Blackrock at 7.82%. 

Blackrock has become one of the largest institutional players in the crypto market, with the launch of its Bitcoin spot exchange-traded funds, with have accrued over $26 billion in assets under management, according to data from TheBlock.

However, the $9.3 trillion asset manager Vanguard has remained on the sidelines with crypto. 

Following the debut of spot Bitcoin ETFs earlier this year, Vanguard published a blog post, announcing that it would not issue or offer crypto-related ETFs to its clients. 

“Vanguard does not have plans to create a Vanguard bitcoin ETF or other crypto-related products,” Vanguard wrote. “Additionally, such products from other issuers will not be offered on our brokerage platform.

Other leading shareholders include State Street Corp., Capital Group, Morgan Stanley, JP Morgan, and so on. 

Public companies now own 1.73% of BTC 

If and when Microsoft decides to invest in Bitcoin by December, it won’t be the first time a publicly traded company invests in the largest crypto assets. 

About 1.73% (or $24.9 billion at the time of writing) of Bitcoin’s supply is owned by public companies, with the largest being Microstrategy, which holds 252,220 BTC, according to data from Bitcoin Treasuries.

BTC’s price was up 2.3% to $68,456.26, following the news.