The question of when a Fortune 500 technology giant will move Bitcoin onto its balance sheet took center stage at Bitcoin 2025 after Strive Asset Management chief executive Matt Cole, standing before thousands in Las Vegas, dialed Meta Platforms chief executive Mark Zuckerberg and—when the call went unanswered—left a voice message urging him to convert a slice of Meta’s $61 billion cash hoard into Bitcoin.
Strive CEO Calls Zuckerberg Over Bitcoin
Speaking to thousands of attendees in Las Vegas, Cole argued that the social-media and AI powerhouse is exposing shareholders to avoidable monetary debasement by keeping tens of billions of dollars parked in cash and short-term US Treasuries. “The case for putting Bitcoin on your corporate balance sheet has never been stronger,” he said, noting that Bitcoin’s market capitalization has surpassed two trillion dollars.
“Right now we have a global fiat debt crisis. M2 is rising almost every single day, and as M2 rises the purchasing power of dollars, or dollars that are put in short-term US Treasuries, continues to decrease.” Cole insisted that inflation gauges understate the erosion of real returns because “you also have to look at the rise of asset prices, like stocks and homes. The reality is that a corporate balance sheet in cash and short-term reserves is losing its ability to generate value for shareholders almost every single day.”
Cole linked the monetary argument to accelerating advances in artificial intelligence, warning that the technology threatens to reshuffle the S&P 500 as thoroughly as the internet did two decades ago. “Over a period of 30 years there was a 50 percent turnover in the S&P 500,” he reminded the audience.
“Our belief is that there will be a similar turnover because of AI disruption in the next 10 years. While I do not believe Meta will fall out of the S&P 500, my belief is that Meta has the opportunity to actually be the largest, or maybe the second-largest, corporation in America, if you get this right. Lean into AI innovation, but also look at the balance-sheet side of the equation.”
He closed the call by referencing Zuckerberg’s much-publicized pet goat: “You’ve already taken step one. You’ve named your goat Bitcoin. My ask is that you take step two and adopt a bold corporate Bitcoin treasury approach and vote yes on proposal number 13.”
Zuck took the first step by naming his goat Bitcoin. It’s time for Meta to put the G.O.A.T. asset, Bitcoin, on its balance sheet and maximize long run shareholder value. https://t.co/58huypeOOL
— Matt Cole (@ColeMacro) May 28, 2025
Will Meta Break The Ice?
Cole’s public appeal drew instant commentary from market-structure analysts and entrepreneurs. Bloomberg ETF specialist Eric Balchunas observed on X that “it feels like it’s inevitable that a Big Boy US company adds btc to balance sheet. Could def see Meta being the one to break the ice.”
In a follow-up post he argued that a Meta or Microsoft allocation would carry far greater symbolic weight than earlier moves by smaller firms: “If a Meta or Microsoft adds btc to balance sheet it will arguably have bigger impact than all the smaller cos doing it, kinda like when Tom Hanks got COVID, everyone was like ‘oh sht Tom Hanks got it.’”
When a user replied that Tesla “already broke the ice, 4 years ago,” Balchunas conceded the point but added, “yes but kinda doesn’t count as of now, hard to explain but you know what I’m saying.”
Skeptics pushed back just as quickly. Larry Tabb, head of market-structure research at Bloomberg Intelligence, wrote: “What? Why? They don’t pay folks in BTC, they don’t buy stuff w/BTC, it doesn’t earn a return, they can’t use it to do anything. Only reason for a corporate to buy BTC would be for investment.” Tabb compared the idea to purchasing an S&P 500 ETF with no dividend capture, concluding that management should either pursue a formal investment mandate or return idle capital to shareholders.
Balchunas countered that the motive would indeed be “shareholder value,” leaving the market to judge whether the trade-off is worthwhile: “Time will tell.”
Zuckerberg ‘Appreciates’ BitcoinOutside the analyst community, founders in the Bitcoin ecosystem speculated about Zuckerberg’s personal inclinations. Lyle Pratt, chief executive of decentralized communications platform Vida Global, called Meta “the dark horse of the corporate Bitcoin acquisition game,” citing Zuckerberg’s dual-class voting control, his failed attempt to launch the Libra (later Diem) stablecoin, and his goat named “Bitcoin.”
Pratt jokingly added that Zuckerberg “doesn’t want Cameron and Tyler to have more Bitcoin,” a jab at Meta’s long-standing rivalry with the Winklevoss twins. Former Meta executive and current Lightspark chief executive David Marcus, who once led the Libra initiative, has previously said that Zuckerberg “appreciates Bitcoin,” lending anecdotal support to Balchunas’ and Pratt’s thesis.
Strive’s shareholder proposal will come to a vote at Meta’s upcoming annual meeting. Cole’s gambit was designed to raise the political cost of inaction for Meta’s board. Notably, Meta’s board has recommended against it and has not commented publicly on Cole’s Las Vegas broadside.
At press time, BTC traded at $107,948.
from Bitcoinist.com https://ift.tt/WcgLOjz
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