The second largest company in the United States called Microsoft does not have any short-term plans to include bitcoins on its balance sheet. This was stated by the president of the firm, Brad Smith.
At the same time, in an interview with CNN correspondent Julia Chatterley, he hinted that the tech giant may still change its mind about investing in the main cryptocurrency. Recall that not so long ago, Tesla made a large investment in the amount of $ 1.5 billion in BTC, after which it became the second largest cryptocurrency holder. In this regard, analysts admitted that the stage of mass investment in the first coin by various giants has already begun.
Tesla’s investment has truly become a landmark event for the cryptocurrency industry. And it’s not even about the large amount, which amounted to $ 1.5 billion. Thanks to the investment, one of the most popular car manufacturers has proven that Bitcoin is not some kind of fraudulent project that exists exclusively at the expense of speculators – this is often stated by critics of the blockchain project. Instead, cryptocurrency is positioned as a complete store of value that can multiply the investor’s investment.
Moreover, the employees of the giant promised to accept bitcoins as payment for their cars. This means that thanks to this, cryptocurrency lovers will be able not only to earn, but also spend their profits on a popular product. And it is possible that this initiative will be supported by many other companies, which will make BTC a much more popular phenomenon.
Which companies bought Bitcoin?
Smith was asked if Microsoft executives are discussing any plans to diversify into cryptocurrencies following Tesla’s example. To this, an employee of the company noted that he did not know anything about such discussions. Here is his line, in which he shares his attitude to what is happening. The statement is quoted by Cointelegraph .
I haven’t heard any new talk about Bitcoin. But let me just say that if we change our cryptocurrency investment policy, Julia, you will be the first to know, or at least very soon.
Note that this comment does not mean that the company’s representatives definitely have no plans to invest in cryptocurrencies. Typically, giants report this after an investment and do so in the appropriate reports to the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
However, there are exceptions. For example, MicroStrategy has already talked about its desire to sell convertible bonds and redirect profits to the acquisition of BTC. The amount can be as high as a billion dollars.
Meanwhile, the capitalization of Bitcoin has grown so much that soon the cryptocurrency will surpass the largest companies in the world in this indicator. According to the AssetDash platform , BTC is currently ranked sixth in terms of capitalization among companies. The coin is now outperformed by Apple, Saudi Aramco, Microsoft, Amazon and Alphabet. By the way, after the announcement of investments from Tesla, Bitcoin quickly bypassed the company itself in terms of capitalization – and it did it confidently, and not like last time.
Bitcoin’s place in the rating of companies by capitalization
The rise in the rate, which is the second unit in calculating market capitalization, along with the amount of cryptocurrency in circulation, helped to achieve this position in the ranking of Bitcoin. Last night, BTC crossed the $ 52,000 line for the first time and set a new all-time high at $ 52,547. Now the coin has slightly adjusted – its value at the time of this writing is $ 51,848.
Here is a daily chart of Bitcoin for clarity.
Bitcoin price chart per day
And while Microsoft is still pondering the potential to join the growth of the crypto market, global banking institutions are showing increasing interest in Bitcoin. In particular, co-founder of the large British cryptocurrency firm Elliptic, Tom Robinson, said that his company is registering a huge surge in requests for investments in crypto from banks.
Over the past two months, banks have become much more interested in Bitcoin. Several financial institutions in the US are «seriously considering launching some type of cryptocurrency service,» Robinson said . At the same time, alas, British banks are still adhering to a more conservative position.
As a reminder, Elliptic, founded in 2013, provides cryptocurrency consulting services to clients like government agencies and digital asset exchanges. The company works with many government agencies, including the US FBI.
In general, the strategy of many banks aimed at accepting cryptocurrencies looks like a very logical decision in the context of recent events. We do not exclude that their work with digital assets may become the only way to attract as many older users as possible who have not yet fully understood the blockchain device and the principle of cryptocurrency operation.
We believe that sooner or later Microsoft will change its attitude towards coins and invest in Bitcoin. As BTC billionaire Cameron Winklevoss previously stated, «In five years or less, every Fortune 500 company will have Bitcoin on its balance sheet, every major central bank will hold BTC, and every investor will think about Bitcoin when building their portfolio.» So we are waiting.
