The Bitcoin community is currently abuzz with the news that tech giant Microsoft is seeking a vote from shareholders on its Bitcoin investment proposal. Although the details of the development remain scant, BTC supporters like Anthony Pompliano explain what could be the reason for Microsoft’s recent pivot to Bitcoin.
What’s Behind Microsoft’s Interest in Bitcoin?
Following the news of Microsoft’s Bitcoin investment proposal, several crypto industry leaders welcomed the development citing growing adoption for the asset class. If the shareholders approve, this will be the first trillion-dollar company on Wall Street to put Bitcoin on its balance sheet.
Several crypto industry leaders have called it a smart choice by Microsoft considering the fact that the USD has been losing its value and purchasing power. Renowned crypto advocate Anthony Pompliano also stated that the tech giant must be having concerns over the sustainability of long-term dollar holdings.
According to Pompliano, organizations seek stable, lasting stores of value, and digital assets like Bitcoin will see increased adoption. He added that Bitcoin, as a digital store-of-value, is increasingly appealing to those aiming to preserve their economic assets amidst currency fluctuations. He wrote:
“Microsoft is interested in storing a portion of their balance sheet in bitcoin because they are realizing they can’t store it in dollars over the long term. The digital store-of-value will continue gaining adoption by those looking to preserve their hard-earned economic value”.
In fact the proposal from Microsoft itself notes: “In inflationary times like these, corporations should – and perhaps have a fiduciary duty to – consider diversifying their balance sheets with assets that appreciate more than bonds, even if those assets are more volatile”.
Other market players and Bitcoin proponents like Michael Saylor have also extended help. Saylor said that he could help MSFT shareholders earn another trillion dollars by making Microsoft adopt MicroStrategy’s Bitcoin Strategy.
Will This Create A Snowball Effect?
Several companies across the world have already started adopting MicroStrategy BTC’s strategy of holding the asset class on its balance sheet. Following the adoption of BTC, MSTR share price has surged by 1500% on the five-year chart, even better than Bitcoin returns. Many see betting on MSTR as a proxy bet for Bitcoin with shareholders minting huge wealth.
Thus, if Microsoft adopts the same strategy, there’s no guessing that the MSFT share price can see a major rally ahead. Nevertheless, it can also create a major snowball effect for other tech giants to put BTC on their balance sheet. As we know, Tesla is holding Bitcoins with diamond hands over the past three years. The market will certainly be eager to see other giants like Apple Inc. and Alphabet Inc. to join the bandwagon.
If Donald Trump manages to seize a victory at the White House, a massive Bitcoin adoption is likely to happen. Trump has been swaying crypto voters and vowed to make America the crypto capital of the world.
Bhushan Akolkar
Bhushan is a FinTech enthusiast with a keen understanding of financial markets. His interest in economics and finance has led him to focus on emerging Blockchain technology and cryptocurrency markets. He is committed to continuous learning and stays motivated by sharing the knowledge he acquires. In his free time, Bhushan enjoys reading thriller fiction novels and occasionally explores his culinary skills.
Disclaimer: The presented content may include the personal opinion of the author and is subject to market condition. Do your market research before investing in cryptocurrencies. The author or the publication does not hold any responsibility for your personal financial loss.
Paima Studios joins Microsoft for Startups program to boost Japanese Web3 gaming
Paima Studios, a Cardano and Milkomeda-focused GameFi project, will take part in a new Web3 initiative from Microsoft, it has been revealed. In particular, the studio will join the tech giant’s startup program to help Japanese game developers and Web3 entrepreneurs deploy the Paima Engine in their applications.
Blockchain gaming
Paima Engine is the studio’s key development, the engine on which it builds its games. In addition to being a blockchain gaming engine, its competitive advantage over other rare representatives of the sphere is the ability to create blockchain games as complete Layer 2 solutions.
That is, by relying on the Paima Engine, game developers can create games in any programming language while avoiding the complexities of blockchain integration. The result is games built as open and trustless blockchain protocols that leverage advanced scalability technologies.
The achievement was enthusiastically welcomed by the studio’s co-founder and CTO, Sebastien Guillemot, who stated that Japan is probably one of the strongest countries in the field of game development. Microsoft Startups’ representative Yuhong Chen responded by welcoming the new entrant to the program. Cardano’s founder, Charles Hoskinson, also expressed his support for Paima Studios’ recent achievement.
Paima Studios currently has two blockchain gamification projects: Jungle Wars and Volcaneers NFT. Both projects focus on Cardano as well as Milkomeda, a Layer 2 sidechain.
A tweet posted by Microsoft has ignited Shiba Inu rumors
The Shiba Inu community is abuzz with speculation over a recent Microsoft tweet.
The official Twitter account of the Redmond, Washington-based tech behemoth made an innocuous joke about dogs participating in online meetings on its business communication platform.
Many believe that the tweet could be a reference to popular canine coins. Microsoft has been inundated with replies from members of the rapidly growing Shiba Inu community.
Some went as far as predicting a potential partnership with the tech giant.
Woof! Let me guess #ShibaInu @Microsoft https://t.co/JFrEgfEpdp pic.twitter.com/Vxk9u0V2v0
— MILKSHAKE (@shibainuart) February 10, 2022
#SHIBARMY could you imagine what we all hope this means. The possibilities would be endless. In #SHIB and @Microsoft we trust https://t.co/XkzQPi98HR
— Shib Ireland (@IrelandShib) February 10, 2022
Microsoft ventured into cryptocurrencies relatively early by starting accepting Bitcoin in late 2014.
One of the most valuable companies in the world is currently developing its own Web3 strategy, according to a job posting published earlier this February.
Last month, Microsoft announced that it would buy video game holding company Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion to make a foray into the mushrooming metaverse sector. The Federal Trade Commission is currently reviewing the gargantuan deal.
In late November, Shiba Inu partnered with David Volk, a former VP at Activision Blizzard.
As reported by U.Today, the Shiba Inu team is expected to reveal the name of its metaverse project in the nearest future. Meanwhile, the team recently announced that the protocol would soon make it possible to buy plots of virtual land, pushing the price of the LEASH token sharply higher.
It’s been pretty much nothing but bad news for investors in Shiba Inu (CRYPTO:SHIB) in recent weeks. The meme coin has plunged in the midst of a broader sell-off of cryptocurrencies.
On a seemingly unrelated note, Activision Blizzard‘s (NASDAQ:ATVI) shareholders received some fantastic news last week. Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) announced on Jan. 18 that it plans to acquire the game developer for $68.7 billion. Unsurprisingly, Activision stock soared.
You probably noticed that I referred to this deal as “seemingly unrelated” to Shiba Inu. But is Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision actually good news for the altcoin?
Image source: Getty Images.
Good news?
At least one person seems to think that Microsoft’s pending acquisition of Activision Blizzard is a positive for Shiba Inu. And that person arguably knows more about the digital token and its future than nearly everyone else on the planet.
After Microsoft’s announcement, Shiba Inu developer Shytoshi Kusama tweeted about the news. Here’s what Kusama had to say:
ICYMI: This acquisition echoes our last move to bring aboard former Activision VP .@william_volk and hiring of .@PlaysideStudios to work on our game. It’s fun to see the big players share the same vision as a “meme coin” on the MV too. #bullish! #SHIBARMY https://t.co/KBOEWeG7q9
— Shytoshi BEANsama
(@ShytoshiKusama) January 18, 2022
Kusama seems to have viewed Microsoft’s deal to buy Activision as kind of an endorsement of Shiba Inu’s own metaverse strategy (the “MV” in his tweet stood for “metaverse”). As he referenced in the tweet last week, Shiba Inu Games has enlisted the help of former Activision executive William Volk and Australian game developer PlaySide Studios to build a multiplayer game.
A bit of a stretch
Did Shiba Inu’s price jump on the Microsoft-Activision news or Kusama’s tweet about it? Um, no. And for good reason. The connection between this acquisition and Shiba Inu’s metaverse strategy is a bit of a stretch.
Sure, Microsoft’s press release noted that the buyout of Activision Blizzard would “provide building blocks for the metaverse.” Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said, “Gaming is the most dynamic and exciting category in entertainment across all platforms today and will play a key role in the development of metaverse platforms.”
But Microsoft was already playing up its metaverse efforts well before the Activision acquisition was announced. Back in November, the company unveiled Mesh for Teams, new functionality for its collaboration application that it touted as “a gateway to the metaverse.”
It’s also tenuous at best to link Microsoft’s purchase of Activision Blizzard with Shiba Inu Games bringing William Volk aboard. For one thing, Volk is a contractor with presumably a temporary association with Shiba Inu. There’s also the tiny detail that Volk last worked with Activision nearly three decades ago.
What is good news
However, there is some good news for Shiba Inu. Kusama wrote in a Medium post in November that “the future of gaming is SHIB.” You might disagree with his bullish take, but there’s no question that Shiba Inu’s guiding developers are betting the future of the meme coin on gaming.
If nothing else, Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard underscores the importance of the metaverse opportunity. After all, the tech giant is putting $68.7 billion on the line.
Anything that helps the metaverse achieve its potential is arguably positive for Shiba Inu over the long term. There’s a big caveat with that statement, though: Shiba Inu must fulfill its own vision related to the metaverse as well.
Bringing Volk and PlaySide Studios on board are definitely moves in the right direction. However, Shiba Inu still has a long way to go to become a key player in the metaverse. But Kusama just might be right that Microsoft and the supporters of the meme coin share a similar vision, at least regarding how important the metaverse will be.
This article represents the opinion of the writer, who may disagree with the “official” recommendation position of a Motley Fool premium advisory service. We’re motley! Questioning an investing thesis — even one of our own — helps us all think critically about investing and make decisions that help us become smarter, happier, and richer.
]]>Shiba Inu has been tanking in values for the last two months. SHIB prices have reached the nadir and have fallen back to before a fall 2021 explosion. However, the holders are still bullish, and their sentiments are bullish due to new development. It’s all thanks to Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT, as it readies with its latest acquisition, a Shiba Inu spokesperson says the news is bullish for the SHIB community.
Microsoft’s recent acquisition is much akin to the vision of SHIB developers.
Shiba Inu’s spokesperson says Microsoft’s recent acquisition is much akin to the vision of SHIB developers. Shiba Inu developers are leaving no efforts to augment the project’s offerings as they have been long at the receiving end of critics who moaned about the lack of use cases. Things, however, turned rosier in the summer of 2021, thanks to the unveiling of the ShibaSwap decentralized exchange. The initiative allowed the users to earn passive income by staking their holdings.
ICYMI: This acquisition echoes our last move to bring aboard former Activision VP .@william_volk and hiring of .@PlaysideStudios to work on our game. It’s fun to see the big players share the same vision as a “meme coin” on the MV too. #bullish! #SHIBARMY https://t.co/KBOEWeG7q9
— Shytoshi Kusama
It proves that the developers are fully engrossed in effecting the upgrades and announced their partners in developing the Shiba Inu metaverse. The bulk of the development will be handled by the Australian game studio Playside Studios, along with Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ: ATVI) ex-patriate William Volk heading the project.
Microsoft’s Activision Buy Stands to Help the Shiba Inu Crypto
Microsoft’s Activision Buy could help Shiba Inu Crypto come out of its bearish phase. It will also spur gains as it launches new products. However, Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard in a deal worth nearly $70 billion will substantially help Shiba Inu.
Shytoshi Kusama, Shiba Inu’s resident spokesperson, took to Twitter yesterday to tell SHIB owners that things are looking up and the news is promising for the project.
Shiba Inu has even grander and more ambitious projects for the future. Notably, it announced a coming layer-2 network called Shibarium and a metaverse built on that layer-2.
Disclaimer
The presented content may include the personal opinion of the author and is subject to market condition. Do your market research before investing in cryptocurrencies. The author or the publication does not hold any responsibility for your personal financial loss.
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