Microsoft to decide on Bitcoin purchase and Tether is in trouble because of Russia and Iran

Software giant Microsoft has never been a big fan of Bitcoin, but their shareholders apparently think otherwise. In December, Microsoft’s shareholders will decide during the annual meeting whether the company will add Bitcoin to the balance sheet, just like Tesla and Microstrategy have done in the past.

US authorities have launched an investigation into the use of Tether by terrorist organizations in the Middle East and Russia as well as Mexican cartels. If the attorney in Manhattan were to decide to block various crypto wallets, this could have disastrous consequences for the crypto world, as the large stablecoin is now the third largest cryptocurrency and many users park their assets there whenever Bitcoin, Ether and all other altcoins get too volatile.

Gates

Microsoft founder Bill Gates is one of the most notorious anti-Bitcoiners. It is therefore all the more surprising that his company will vote whether or not they’ll purchase Bitcoin as part of their broad range of investments. Microsoft has a huge cash reserve and one of the groups on its board of directors recently launched a proposal to purchase Bitcoin as a long-term investment (bearing in mind that the Bitcoin ETF funds made a lot of profit this year that’s not too surprising).

🚨 JUST IN: Microsoft asks shareholders to vote on whether to consider investing in Bitcoin! pic.twitter.com/eZAY0PIDBv

— Swan (@Swan) October 24, 2024

Shareholders may vote on the proposal on December 10. However, the rest of Microsoft’s board of directors recommends voting no to this plan.

Tether

Ever since a New York judge ruled on it, the company behind Tether, the largest stablecoin in the crypto industry, has to publish a quarterly report every three months. Given that the stablecoin is the third largest cryptocurrency, US investors want to be sure that crypto investors can safely park their money in USDT.

The criminal investigation, run by prosecutors at the Manhattan U.S. attorney’s office, is looking at whether [Tether] has been used by third parties to fund illegal activities such as the drug trade, terrorism and hacking—or launder the proceeds generated by them. pic.twitter.com/mC2YQD1API

— WaterBluSky.bsky.social. 🇺🇸🇪🇺🇺🇦 (@MsMariaT) October 25, 2024

This time Tether will have to report that the Manhattan prosecutor started an investigation into the use of their product by terrorist organizations in the Middle East, the Russian mafia and various cartels in Mexico. They do this to avoid sanctions imposed by the United States and the EU. Expect a ruling to follow next year.