Why tech giants like Amazon may hesitate to adopt Bitcoin
2024-12-13
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Big Tech companies like Amazon have a large amount of cash on hand — $87 billion last year — which loses purchasing power as the currency evaluates. 
Washington DC-based think tank The National Center for Public Policy Research (NCPPR) has submitted shareholder proposals to adopt Bitcoin BTCUSD as a solution. However, whether tech giants would see major benefits from this remains unclear.
NCPPR has been pushing the strategy at Microsoft and Amazon. In both cases, the think tank believes adopting Bitcoin into their treasury will protect the cash assets and shareholders’ value from inflation.
The proposal argues that the Consumer Price Index (CPI), which pegs inflation at 4.95%, is a “remarkably poor measure” of true currency debasement and suggests that real inflation may be twice as high.
Microsoft has $78 billion cash on hand, while Amazon has $87 billion. While Bitcoin could offer a potential hedge, do the risks outweigh the benefits?
Despite the support of orange pill specialist and chairman of business intelligence firm MicroStrategy Michael Saylor, Microsoft shareholders voted ‘no’ overwhelmingly to the Bitcoin reserve proposal from NCPPR, indicating its purported volatility as a negative factor.
Amazon is next to decide. Will this vote be different?
Amazon isn’t a conservative tech company like Microsoft
Nick Cowan, CEO of fintech firm Valereum, told Cointelegraph that Microsoft and Amazon may have similarities as tech giants, but their styles differ significantly.
While Microsoft is historically conservative in its fiscal and strategic approach, Amazon has a track record of adopting emerging technologies and exploring novel investments. 
“Unlike Microsoft, Amazon’s higher willingness to innovate might align with Bitcoin’s potential for diversification,” said Cowan.
Amazon may vote on the NCPPR proposal at its annual shareholder meeting in May 2025. The proposal urges the company to exceed the typical 1-2% allocation to risky assets in corporate portfolios.
Cowan thinks this percentage is very unlikely. “A 5% allocation to Bitcoin is ambitious and likely unrealistic for a company of Amazon’s scale,” he said. “While Bitcoin offers diversification, its volatility and lack of tangible yield make it challenging to justify at such a level.” He believes “a smaller experimental allocation, akin to Tesla’s approach, might gain more shareholder support.”
Tesla’s purchase of Bitcoin in 2021 has been notably profitable for the company. Initially, Tesla bought $1.5 billion worth of Bitcoin but sold 70% of its initial position in 2021. 
Nevertheless, Tesla has held its Bitcoin stash (9,720 BTC), its value exceeding $1.3 billion, according to data from BitcoinTreasuries.NET.
Amazon has billions available in cash, so it could easily allocate a similar amount to Tesla. 
While the NCPPR may be sincere in its wish for Amazon and Microsoft to adopt Bitcoin, Cowan suggests the wider strategy is to amplify the message that Bitcoin can be seen as a hedge against inflation to “create potential momentum for Bitcoin’s institutional acceptance.” 
The NCPPR did not respond immediately to Cointelegraph’s request for comment. 
Do tech giants need Bitcoin for their treasury?
MicroStrategy has shown remarkable results following the path of adopting Bitcoin into its core strategy for its treasury.
The firm began purchasing Bitcoin on Aug. 11, 2020, acquiring 21,454 BTC for $250 million. Since then, its stock price has surged from $14 to $411, with its market cap rising from $1.3 billion to nearly $100 billion. 
Michael Saylor’s bet to use Bitcoin as a hedge against inflation has far exceeded expectations, so why wouldn’t tech giants emulate Saylor’s treasury model?
MicroStrategy’s approach is markedly different, however, and uses a large amount of leverage, making its strategy much riskier than Tesla’s buy-and-hold strategy.
In addition, the ratio of Bitcoin to its total market cap transformed its stock into a leveraged Bitcoin proxy. 
As per the writing, Amazon’s market cap is $2.4 trillion, and Microsoft’s is $3.3 trillion, so its Bitcoin adoption effects would not resemble those of MicroStrategy. 
Cowan believes there’s no urgency for Amazon to adopt Bitcoin, as its “core business is strong.” While reallocating part or the total of its cash reserves into Bitcoin could hedge against inflation, there is risk in deviating from its current treasury strategy, which some shareholders may perceive as a potential liability for its profitable business model.
“Dedicating a large portion to Bitcoin could impact Amazon’s ability to fund key growth areas like AWS, AI advancements, and logistics infrastructure,” he said. The shareholder’s vote decision would need to “balance speculative asset acquisition against critical innovation investments that define Amazon’s competitive edge.”
Bitcoin environmental concerns may deter shareholders
Big Tech firms must also consider the public’s perception, as mainstream media highly influence their brands and stock prices. While Bitcoin’s reputation has improved considerably, it is still associated with speculative trading assets, potential misuse, and environmental concerns.
Amazon has revolutionized commerce by rapidly delivering goods to customers’ doorsteps. However, the environmental impact of this model is staggering, with over 709 million pounds of plastic waste generated, according to a 2022 report by the environmental organization Oceana.
The company has committed to achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2040, a decade ahead of the Paris Agreement’s target.
Bitcoin’s high energy usage in mining has faced heavy criticism from environmentalists. However, the narrative is shifting as the mining infrastructure is more thoroughly examined. Despite this shift, risks of a PR backlash remain.
Amazon shareholders must decide whether the company could achieve similar positive results as Tesla or MicroStrategy by hedging against inflation with Bitcoin or if it should avoid the risks and focus on its core business model.