Microsoft shareholders voted against allocating Bitcoin, and the price fell below $95,000 during trading

Even though Bitcoin has seen a strong upward trend since Trump's election as President of the United States, the tech giant Microsoft, which ranks second in market capitalization in the U.S. stock market, is currently not considering allocating Bitcoin.

On December 10th, Tuesday, Eastern Time, Microsoft shareholders voted down a proposal regarding the allocation of Bitcoin, citing that Microsoft's existing strategy is already assessing various investable assets, including Bitcoin, as part of Microsoft's broader investment framework.

The proposal in question was titled "Assessment of Investment in Bitcoin," submitted by the conservative think tank National Center for Public Policy Research (NCPPR) based in Washington. The think tank advocates that Bitcoin is a "good inflation hedge tool, even if not the best."

NCPPR's proposal defines Bitcoin as a responsibility for companies to provide value to shareholders through profit diversification, and the introductory video of the submitted summary proposal states:

"Microsoft cannot miss the next wave of technological innovation, and Bitcoin is part of that wave."

NCPPR believes that adopting Bitcoin would create trillions of dollars in value and eliminate risks for shareholders. The video also echoed the content of the proposal text: the adoption of Bitcoin by institutions and companies is becoming increasingly common, with Microsoft's second-largest shareholder, BlackRock, offering Bitcoin spot ETFs to its clients.

NCPPR's proposal suggests that Bitcoin is "more volatile" than corporate bonds, thus recommending not to hold "too much," but at the same time advising against completely ignoring Bitcoin to avoid risking shareholder value. Therefore, it suggests using 1% to 5% of Microsoft's profits to purchase Bitcoin. The proposal formally requests Microsoft "to assess whether incorporating Bitcoin for corporate balance sheet diversification is in the best long-term interests of shareholders."

After Microsoft shareholders voted down the proposal to hold Bitcoin, Bitcoin fell back below $95,000 during Tuesday's U.S. stock market session. According to CoinMarketCap, the trading price of Bitcoin dropped below $94,500 during the U.S. midday session, approaching the intraday low set earlier in the Asian market on Tuesday, down over $3,800 from the intraday high above $98,200 in the early U.S. market, a decline of nearly 4%.

At the same time, the decline in Meme coins expanded, with CoinMarketCap data showing that Dogecoin (DOGE), ranked seventh in global cryptocurrency market capitalization, fell over 14% in the last 24 hours, while dogwifhat (WIF), ranked 51st in market capitalization, dropped over 20% during the day.

Microsoft shareholders reject proposal to reduce AI risks such as misinformation and data privacy breaches

Microsoft shareholders rejected a proposal regarding artificial intelligence (AI) risks on Tuesday. The proposal called for Microsoft to reduce AI risks ranging from misinformation to data privacy breaches and to disclose such risks.

The proposal was submitted by the conservative nonprofit organization National Legal and Policy Center (NLPC), which argued that shareholders "should be concerned about Microsoft's record on data ethics" and mentioned that OpenAI, the AI unicorn heavily invested in by Microsoft, has been accused of stealing users' personal information without notice or permission.

The AI proposal on Tuesday reflected concerns that Microsoft developers might use data from unethical or illegal sources to train generative AI, such as personal information, copyrighted works, or proprietary business information provided by users.

Commentators noted that this proposal faced by Microsoft shareholders highlights that, in the face of rapidly evolving AI technology, investors are demanding that companies consider establishing new transparency and ethical policies for the development and use of AI, including generative AI