McDonald’s has decided to reject a shareholder proposal that called for the fast-food company to add Bitcoin to its corporate treasury. The proposal came from the National Center for Public Policy Research (NCPPR), a Washington, D.C.-based conservative think tank and McDonald’s shareholder. This group has previously made similar suggestions to other large companies, including Microsoft and Amazon, encouraging them to include Bitcoin in their financial strategies.
According to the NCPPR, investing in Bitcoin could protect corporate profits from inflation and currency devaluation. The group argued that such a move could boost shareholder value in the long run.
The proposal was submitted ahead of McDonald’s annual shareholders’ meeting, scheduled for May 2025. NCPPR claimed that companies like MicroStrategy — recently rebranded as Strategy — have seen considerable stock market gains since adopting Bitcoin.
According to their statement, Strategy’s stock has outperformed McDonald’s by more than 2,000% over the past five years. The group urged McDonald’s to follow this example, stating that the fast-food giant could benefit by allocating a portion of its cash reserves to Bitcoin.
McDonald’s, however, did not agree. The company contacted the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and requested permission to exclude the proposal from the shareholder meeting agenda. The company’s legal team stated that decisions about investment strategy fall under ordinary business operations and are best handled by the board of directors, not shareholders. The SEC agreed, saying in a letter that it would not take action against McDonald’s for omitting the proposal from the meeting. In the Commission’s view, such matters are part of routine business decisions.
This is not the first time the NCPPR has tried to influence corporate investment strategies through shareholder proposals. Last year, it submitted similar requests to Microsoft and Amazon. Microsoft shareholders voted against the idea, with the company arguing that Bitcoin’s volatility posed a risk to long-term financial planning. Amazon has not yet acted on the proposal.
The decision by McDonald’s to keep Bitcoin off its shareholder meeting agenda reflects a cautious attitude among traditional corporations toward cryptocurrency. While some businesses have adopted Bitcoin, most large companies continue to focus on more conventional investment approaches.
McDonald’s, with its global operations and established brand, appears to be prioritising financial stability over experimentation with digital currencies. For now, Bitcoin will not be part of the company’s financial future. Whether this will change in the years to come remains to be seen.
