Strategy became the first publicly traded company to adopt Bitcoin (BTC) as a primary financial reserve asset in August 2020, but since then, not many large tech companies have followed suit.

Financial reserves, sometimes referred to as cash reserves, are funds held by a company to finance short-term or emergency obligations. These are typically cash or cash equivalents, such as money market funds or three-month U.S. Treasury bills.

Social media giant Meta holds $72 billion in liquid assets in its reserves. However, at the annual meeting on May 28, shareholders overwhelmingly rejected a proposal to assess whether Bitcoin (BTC) could serve as a future financial reserve asset by a vote of 1221 to 1.

This rejection itself is not surprising. Despite the increasing adoption of Bitcoin by businesses, large tech companies and most mainstream enterprises remain cautious. U.S. tech giant Microsoft also rejected a similar proposal in December 2024.

The overwhelming rejection of Meta's failed Bitcoin proposal raises questions about whether institutions are ready to adopt cryptocurrency.

It may all just be a misunderstanding. New York University professor Aswath Damodaran told Cointelegraph that cryptocurrency supporters may not realize that corporate financial reserves are more like emergency funds: used for events like natural disasters or pandemics, or to support day-to-day business operations, rather than as a platform for speculative investments.

"I think it's crazy," he said while discussing the proposal from Bitcoin advocate Ethan Peck. Damodaran stated he could not think of "any reason why this is a good idea."

Damodaran is known for his skepticism towards cryptocurrency. But even Duke University finance professor Campbell Harvey—who has written a book on decentralized finance and generally holds a positive view of Bitcoin technology—expressed disdain for Bitcoin financial initiatives, telling Cointelegraph:

"If Meta investors want to own Bitcoin, they can buy it themselves. It's unclear what role cryptocurrency plays in any financial function unless the company is using cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin for business."

Harvey noted that stablecoins typically meet the criteria for financial reserves because they are usually liquid and pegged to underlying assets like the U.S. dollar, comparing Bitcoin to a highly volatile tool unsuitable for corporate reserves.

Harvey suggested that Strategy's successful Bitcoin blueprint has inspired other companies to join the trend. Since the tech company adopted BTC as its primary reserve asset, Strategy's MSTR stock has risen 2466%, outperforming companies like Nvidia, Tesla, Google, and Microsoft.

"But Strategy has bet the company on turning it into an active Bitcoin fund," Harvey added:

"If a company wants to make a strategic investment in Bitcoin, just like they might in a startup, I have no objection to that. It's a form of venture capital, and companies have always done that. Just don't call it a financial asset."

However, companies like Meta often hold billions of dollars in cash reserves, which typically just sit there earning almost no interest. For professional investors, this is almost a sin.

"Meta has been holding billions of dollars in cash," David Tawil, president and co-founder of ProChain Capital, told Cointelegraph. "They always hold cash." Investing a portion of that in Bitcoin would be better, both for diversification and to protect them from dollar inflation.

James Butterfill, head of research at digital asset investment firm CoinShares, told Cointelegraph that a 3% Bitcoin allocation could double the fund's Sharpe ratio (a measure used to evaluate risk-adjusted performance).

CoinShares' own survey shows that the average digital asset allocation for firms managing assets (AUM) of $1 trillion rose from 1% in October 2024 to 1.8% in April 2025. "The pace of adoption is faster than we expected," Butterfill added.

Meta's shareholder vote may reflect a broader cautious attitude towards Bitcoin among mainstream companies and institutional investors. However, CEO Mark Zuckerberg controls 61% of the voting power at Meta, so this may not necessarily be a representative sample of U.S. corporations.

Stefan Padfield, executive director of the Free Enterprise Project at the National Center for Public Policy Research, told Cointelegraph that corporate boards and management may have views on Bitcoin that are as divided as those of economists and politicians, "so it's not surprising to see companies, including tech firms, taking different positions on the 'none-some-many' spectrum of Bitcoin."

Perhaps the situation here is less than it appears. Padfield added:

"While the proposal only asked for consideration of Bitcoin, it could still be rejected simply because management and investors do not want to be told what to do in this area."

Meanwhile, some of the world's largest asset management firms, such as Fidelity and BlackRock, have begun to embrace cryptocurrency. BlackRock recently suggested that investors consider allocating up to 2% of their portfolios to Bitcoin for diversification.

Bitcoin financial initiatives are accelerating globally. On June 3, the Blockchain Group in Paris announced it had increased its financial reserves by $68 million worth of Bitcoin. Then on June 4, South Korea's K Wave Media announced plans to raise $500 million to purchase Bitcoin, calling it a "financial strategy."

Butterfill noted that at least 72 new companies have adopted Bitcoin this year, although "many of these initiatives seem more driven by a desire to boost stock prices than a genuine belief in the long-term value of holding Bitcoin on the balance sheet." He pointed out that true strategic allocation requires a long-term mindset.

But what about large companies whose core business is unrelated to cryptocurrency or blockchain technology? So far, Tesla is the only one in this group, Butterfill noted, adding:

"Based on current trends, we are likely to see a major large-cap company add Bitcoin to its balance sheet."

Nevertheless, back to Meta, the rejection ratio of 1221 to 1 is quite strong, isn't it?

Butterfill suggested that Meta shareholders may have overreacted to Bitcoin's so-called volatility. "Bitcoin's volatility has been below Meta's for more than two months, and this trend is more widespread among FAANG stocks," he said.

Padfield added, "I always worry that people read too much into low (proxy) voting numbers. In this case, it may simply reflect a desire to avoid being 'forced' to consider Bitcoin rather than a rejection of Bitcoin itself."

Related: Bitcoin and U.S. crypto stocks rise as more companies plan to buy BTC

Original: “Meta's Rejection of Bitcoin (BTC) Indicates Large Tech Companies Remain Skeptical”

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