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Bitcoin could become part of Amazon’s treasury strategy, as the online retail giant’s shareholders push to adopt the cryptocurrency across its assets.
If Amazon embraces digital assets, it will join other business giants exploring the inclusion of Bitcoin in their asset portfolios.
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Bitcoin as a financial backup option
Amazon shareholders urged the online retailer to evaluate the possibility of this Add Bitcoin to its balance sheetsaying that the first-born cryptocurrency could increase investors’ value in the long term as it provides a way to protect it from inflation.
A US-based think tank told Amazon to assess the prospect of using some of its financial reserve to hold Bitcoin to increase shareholder value and fight inflation.
According to a recommendation from the National Center for Public Policy Research (NCPPR), the company’s shareholders are asking the board of directors to investigate whether including cryptocurrencies in the online store’s treasury serves the best long-term interests of shareholders.
HISTORY: SHAREHOLDERS FILE $2.3 TRILLION PETITION TO BUY AMAZON #BITCOIN
BTC IS IN THE BEST “LONG TERM INTERESTS OF SHAREHOLDERS” 🚀 pic.twitter.com/Nj2wCNrVUn
— The Bitcoin Historian (@pete_rizzo_) December 9, 2024
The NCPPR has submitted the shareholder proposal to Amazon to consider the crypto strategy at the company’s 2025 annual shareholder meeting.
The US think tank suggested that Amazon should assess the benefits of holding Bitcoin, and encourage the company to allocate even 5% of its $585 billion assets to the cryptocurrency.
“While Bitcoin is currently a volatile asset – as Amazon stock has sometimes been historically – companies have a responsibility to maximize shareholder value in both the long and short term,” NCPRR said in the document.
The researchers said that including some Bitcoins can diversify the company’s balance sheet, solving this problem without taking on too much volatility.
Fighting inflation
The NCPRR said the US inflation rate is rising, adding that cash and bonds are no longer the best approach to protecting Amazon’s money.
The US-based think tank cited that average inflation in the country has been pegged at 4.95% over the past four years, rising to 9.1% in June 2022.
It added that real inflation is significantly higher, and said several studies have shown that it is sometimes almost double the consumer price index.
“Amazon should – and may have a fiduciary duty – consider adding to its treasury assets that appreciate more in value than bonds, even if those assets are more volatile in the short term,” NCPPR noted.
Simple. Accept Bitcoin payments? 🤷♂️ https://t.co/ud5PVNYHrj
— CZ 🔶BNB (@cz_binance) December 8, 2024
Bitcoin A good option
The NCPPR believes that Amazon could retain billions of dollars in shareholder value simply by owning Bitcoin.
The researchers explained that the alpha crypto has risen in value, unlike cash and bonds whose value is lower than the “true inflation rate,” adding that digital assets have risen 130% this year, outperforming then bonds.
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Data showed that Bitcoin’s value skyrocketed to a phenomenal 1,200% over the past five years.
The company’s shareholders said that by holding Bitcoin, Amazon is protecting its profits from inflation and potentially generating better returns in the future.
In a post, former Binance executive Changpeng Zhao supports the proposal and offers a simple solution for how Amazon can build its Bitcoin holdings by adding a payment option using cryptocurrency on its platform.
Featured image from Pexels, chart from TradingView