Shareholders trimmed support for executive pay packages at leading US Bitcoin (BTC) miners to an average of 64% in this year’s proxy season, far below the over 90% approval norm across the S&P 500, according to a July 10 VanEck research note. 

VanEck reviewed filings from eight listed miners and found average named-executive-officer (NEO) compensation climbed from $6.6 million in 2023 to $14.4 million in draft 2024 proxies.

Equity and other long-term instruments accounted for 79% of total pay in 2023 and 89% in 2024, well above the Russell 3000’s 63% and the energy sector’s 63% weighting. 

Base salaries remained near industry norms at roughly $474,000, but equity grants increased significantly. 

Riot Platforms’ CEO secured a $79.3 million 2024 stock award, nearly double Marathon’s $40.1 million grant and multiple times the peer averages. Meanwhile, Core Scientific (CORZ), which was emerging from bankruptcy, issued its CEO $39.5 million in stock as part of remuneration.

Say-on-pay votes show mounting resistance

CORZ, Riot, and Marathon (MARA) failed their 2025 advisory votes on compensation, garnering approval rates of only 38%, 32%, and 22%, respectively. 

Industry-wide, six in eight companies missed the 70% support threshold that proxy adviser ISS flags as “low support,” a failure rate of 75% versus about 4% for the Russell 3000. 

Investors also scrutinised dilution. Equity plan expansions equal to roughly 10% of the shares outstanding were approved at Terawulf and CORZ, while smaller increases were approved at Bit Digital, Hut 8, and MARA. Analysts warned that generous share reserves amplify insider dilution when awards vest on short timelines. 

Gradual shift toward performance gating

Six of the eight miners now use performance stock units (PSUs) that vest on multi-year share price or total shareholder return targets, up from two in 2022. However, CleanSpark has yet to adopt PSUs, and Bit Digital has authorization but no issuance. 

VanEck noted that most plans still rely on two to three-year vesting horizons and “as-achieved” equity, leaving alignment gaps with long-term value creation. 

Comparing 2024 NEO pay with market cap gains shows stark dispersion: Riot’s $230 million aggregate NEO compensation equalled 73% of its market-cap increase, while Marathon’s 18% ratio and Core Scientific’s 2% ratio reflected better alignment. 

VanEck concluded that boards can temper push-back by tying bonuses to cost-per-coin-mined to enforce operating discipline, linking long-term equity to return-on-capital metrics instead of absolute share-price targets, and extending vesting schedules and capping awards to curb dilution. 

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Meta Platforms’ shareholders voted against a plan to see if the company should hold Bitcoin as part of its cash reserves. Nearly 9 million shares were abstentions, and almost 205 million shares counted as broker non-votes. The vote happened at the company’s annual meeting this week. Short of support, the proposal failed to move forward.

Shareholders Reject Bitcoin Proposal

According to public filings, investor Ethan Peck of the National Center for Public Policy Research asked Meta to study whether swapping some of its $72 billion in cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities for Bitcoin could help protect value.

Peck pointed out that inflation and low returns on bonds have been eroding the company’s cash hoard. He noted that Bitcoin’s fixed supply and past price gains might offer a hedge. Some shareholders voted in favor, but most sided with the company’s board.

Meta Platforms Shareholders Vote Against Bitcoin Treasury Assessment Proposal pic.twitter.com/ZeIrUHq2OK

— Phoenix » PhoenixNews.io (@PhoenixNewsIO) May 30, 2025

Board Cites Solid Treasury Management

Based on reports, Meta’s directors said there was no need for a separate Bitcoin study. They argued that the company already has a plan to keep its cash safe.

Meta’s leaders wrote that they review many kinds of investments on a regular basis to ensure they have enough liquid funds for operations. They did not comment on whether Bitcoin was a good or bad choice. Instead, they said their existing process meets all their needs.

Push For Corporate Bitcoin Falls Short

The National Center for Public Policy Research has tried similar pushes at Microsoft and Amazon. Microsoft shareholders in December 2024 rejected a proposal to put Bitcoin on the balance sheet.

Amazon faced a comparable idea but did not act on it. Even when some tech leaders make hints—Mark Zuckerberg named his goats “Bitcoin” and “Max,” and board member Marc Andreessen sits on Coinbase’s board—big firms remain cautious. They worry about price swings and extra rules that come with owning cryptocurrency.

Meta Shifts Focus To Stablecoin

Rather than buy Bitcoin, Meta now seems more interested in stablecoins. Based on reports, the company is in talks with crypto infrastructure partners about using a stablecoin for global payouts. This would let Meta send money faster and cheaper across borders.

It also marks a return to crypto efforts after Meta closed its Diem project. Back in 2022, Diem was shelved amid US regulatory pushback. Meta’s new moves suggest it wants a piece of payments tech, but without the wild price swings of Bitcoin.

For now, Bitcoin will not sit on Meta’s balance sheet. Some public companies like Tesla and Strategy have placed big bets on Bitcoin. Meta’s board, however, prefers a more traditional treasury setup. By leaning toward stablecoins, they show they want speed and stability over the dramatic ups and downs of crypto.

Featured image from Unsplash, chart from TradingView

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Meta Platforms shareholders rejected a measure that urged the company to add Bitcoin (BTC) to its $72 billion cash pile, voting 4.98 billion shares against and 3.92 million for at the May 30 annual meeting, as reports surfaced.

Abstentions totaled 8.86 million shares, while brokers withheld votes on 204.77 million shares. With fewer than 0.1% of votes cast in favor, the initiative fell well short of passage.

The resolution, submitted by Ethan Peck of the National Center for Public Policy Research, asked Meta to “provide a counterweight against lower bond effectiveness” by converting an unspecified portion of surplus cash into Bitcoin. 

Peck framed the asset as an inflation hedge, noting its price increase in 2024 compared with modest bond returns. 

Outside advocates pressed Zuckerberg

The ballot followed public lobbying from Strive Asset Management CEO Matt Cole, who called Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg during the 2025 Bitcoin Conference, urging a “bold corporate Bitcoin treasury approach” and endorsing a “yes” vote on Proposal 13. 

On the same day, Bloomberg senior ETF analyst Eric Balchunas said Meta could become the first US megacap to add Bitcoin this cycle, suggesting such a move would signal broader corporate acceptance.

Prior attempts to sway Microsoft and Amazon shareholders toward similar steps have also failed, highlighting the hurdles Bitcoin advocates face when targeting large-cap firms with conventional treasury frameworks.

The vote leaves Meta’s treasury unchanged, but it confirms that crypto proponents will likely continue pressing US blue-chip boards to revisit digital-asset policies as regulatory clarity improves.

The post Meta shareholders reject Bitcoin treasury bid in landslide vote appeared first on CryptoSlate.