McDonald’s Decides Against Bitcoin Proposal
McDonald’s has decided not to pursue a shareholder proposal that suggested adopting Bitcoin as part of its financial strategy. The proposal was presented by the National Center for Public Policy Research, which recommended that the fast-food chain invest in the market’s leading cryptocurrency, comparing its appreciation potential to real estate, which has historically been associated with the company’s equity structure.
“Real estate has been a much more reliable store of value than cash and bonds, but it won’t grow as much as bitcoin and isn’t as liquid,” the proposal said. The initiative also claimed that McDonald’s was falling behind by not including BTC on its balance sheet, as other companies have done.
In response to the request, McDonald’s legal team appealed to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to see if it could withdraw the proposal from the annual shareholders’ meeting without legal consequences. In a formal response dated March 28, the SEC supported the company’s position, stating that the proposal addresses operational management issues and that there would be no recommendation for legal action if it were removed from the voting materials.
The debate over the presence of cryptocurrencies on corporate balance sheets has intensified since Donald Trump returned to the presidency of the United States. With the surge in the price of bitcoin, companies such as MicroStrategy have increased their investments in the digital asset. More recently, GameStop announced the raising of US$1.5 billion with a focus on purchasing BTC. However, similar initiatives have been rejected at companies such as Microsoft.
McDonald’s decision shows that, despite the growing institutional attention on Bitcoin, not all global giants consider the time to be right for this type of move.