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You are here: Home / Bitcoin Industry News / Polymarket Bettors Skeptical Over Potential Microsoft (MSFT) Bitcoin Purchase

December 3, 2024

Polymarket Bettors Skeptical Over Potential Microsoft (MSFT) Bitcoin Purchase

Michael Saylor’s pitch to Microsoft’s (MSFT) board on whether the software giant should add bitcoin to its balance sheet is unlikely to get shareholder approval, with <a href=”httpss://polymarket.com/event/will-microsoft-shareholders-vote-for-bitcoin-investment?tid=1733211064555″ target=”_blank”>Polymarket bettors</a> only giving an 11% chance of it being approved.

Each bet comprises a “Yes” and a “No” side. Each share pays out $1 in USDC, a stablecoin, or cryptocurrency that trades at par with the U.S. dollar, if the prediction comes true, and zero if not.

In October, a <a href=”httpss://www.coindesk.com/business/2024/10/24/microsoft-urges-shareholders-to-vote-against-a-proposal-to-assess-bitcoin-as-a-diversification-investment-filing” target=”_blank”>proposal from the National Center for Public Policy Research</a> urged Microsoft to add bitcoin to its balance sheet as a diversification investment, but the board recommended shareholders vote against it, arguing that crypto lacked the stability to be part of the treasury of a company the size of MSFT.

Saylor, the executive chairman of Microstrategy (MSTR), which has seen its stock rocket up 455% year-to-date, <a href=”httpss://www.coindesk.com/markets/2024/12/02/micro-strategy-added-15-4-k-bitcoin-for-1-5-b-taking-total-holdings-to-402-100-tokens” target=”_blank”>recently pitched</a> Microsoft’s board on this issue, arguing bitcoin could act as a hedge against inflation and economic uncertainty, potentially boosting Microsoft’s $3.2 trillion market cap to over $8 trillion.

Microsoft’s current treasury strategy, Saylor says, is weakening the company, as it has “surrendered” $200 billion in capital over five years through dividends and buybacks, which he argued could have been invested in Bitcoin, now up over 1,200% in that period.

One Polymarket bettor argued that there wasn’t really a point for institutional investors to want Microsoft to add bitcoin to its balance sheet, because there are already so many options out there to get bitcoin exposure – which wasn’t the case when Microstrategy originally bought.

“They’re just making their value assessment more difficult by muddying up safe investments (MFST) with volatile ones (BTC),” <a href=”httpss://polymarket.com/profile/0x79add3f87e377b0899b935472c07d2c3816ba9f1″ target=”_blank”>trader Oxymirin wrote</a>, who holds a position on the ‘no’ side worth $2000.

Another bettor, who holds the opposite side of the trade, argued that given Microsoft’s comfortable cash position, the company might buy a small amount of BTC.

“I think a small amount of funds will be allocated for testing. After all, shareholders’ rights must be taken into consideration. Microsoft’s cash position is sufficient. Microsoft offers some options for buying Bitcoin,” a <a href=”httpss://polymarket.com/profile/0xb7e5f664261d08262554a350fb45ae012d14b7b6″ target=”_blank”>trader that goes by the handle of titanlin</a> wrote.

Microsoft is scheduled to hold its next shareholder meeting on December 10, where the motion will be voted on.

Author: Sam Reynolds

Filed Under: Bitcoin Industry News

Expert Witness

Ty Sagalow head shotTy Sagalow's unique background in legal, underwriting, policy drafting and claims – and his designation as a “qualified insurance expert” by the United States District Court for the Southern District of California – offers attorneys an unparalleled resource in D&O, E&O and Cyber insurance coverage disputes. He was also named "Most Helpful Expert" in a recent $8.7M coverage decision.

Mr. Sagalow served as Chief Underwriting Officer and General Counsel for AIG Executive Liability (formerly National Union Fire Insurance Company of Pittsburgh, PA), the world’s largest carrier of Directors and Officers Liability and Professional Liability Insurance. As General Counsel, Mr. Sagalow personally wrote or led teams that wrote all the D&O policies and many of the professional liability policies that AIG produced between 1988 and 2000 – policies which continue to serve as the foundational wording for the D&O and professional liability policies in the market today. As AIG Executive Liability’s Chief Underwriting Officer, Mr. Sagalow was charged with all underwriting interpretations and decisions for AIG D&O/E&O policies. In 2009, Mr. Sagalow headed up the team that rewrote all D&O policies for Zurich North America.

Ty is a cum laude graduate of Georgetown University Law Center and holds a LLM from New York University School of Law.

Bitcoin Insurance

Combining his talents as a network security insurance expert and an insurance product development expert, Ty Sagalow is the leading expert on the unique risk and insurance needs of the bitcoin industry.

With the successful sale of BitSecure(tm), the first bitcoin theft insurance policy in February of 2015, he is the first to create a sustainable, robust insurance policy to cover the theft of bitcoins and other virtual currency backed by an A-Rated, global “top 10” Property and Casualty insurance company.

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Innovation Insurance Group is an insurance consulting firm and insurance brokerage founded by 30-year insurance executive, Ty R. Sagalow, former Chief Underwriting Officer, General Counsel and Chief Innovation Officer at AIG, and former Chief Innovation Officer at Zurich, NA and Tower Group. IIG focuses on three core practice groups: product development, expert witness services (primarily in the Management and Professional Liability areas), and bitcoin industry brokerage services.

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