Finance, Bitcoin, GameStop, Intuit Intuit’s deplatforming and anti-bitcoin stance may hurt shareholder worth, Cole mentioned, whereas urging adoption of BTC as a strategic hedge.
Matt Cole, CEO of Strive Asset Management, recent from persuading video retailer GameStop to transform a few of its money reserve into bitcoin (BTC), wrote to induce monetary software program developer Intuit (INTU) to reverse what he described as “censorship policies” and an “anti-bitcoin bias” that would jeopardize long-term shareholder worth.
In an open letter dated April 14 addressed to Intuit CEO Sasan Goodarzi and board Chair Susan Nora Johnson, Cole pointed to a latest incident during which Intuit’s Mailchimp e mail advertising platform disabled the account of the Trojan Bitcoin Club, a pupil group on the University of Southern California, for mentioning the cryptocurrency in emails to its members.
“We are concerned that Intuit’s censorship policies and anti-bitcoin bias threaten to destroy the shareholder value the company has worked so hard to create,” Cole wrote saying he was writing on behalf of his shoppers, who embody Intuit shareholders. Although Mailchimp later reinstated the account following public stress, Cole mentioned the episode displays a “broader pattern of deplatforming” that features bitcoin builders, educators, and companies.
Cole mentioned such actions expose Intuit, recognized for its TurboTax tax preparation software program and QuickBooks accounting software program, to reputational and authorized dangers, significantly as public concern round tech censorship grows and federal regulators — together with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) — start investigating platform discrimination based mostly on speech or affiliations.
“Mailchimp’s Acceptable Use Policy is being used as a political weapon, rather than a tool to mitigate legitimate business risk,” Cole wrote, including that “customers and shareholders alike are starting to question whether Intuit is making decisions based on ideology rather than fiduciary duty.”
The letter referred to as on Intuit to reinstate accounts banned for bitcoin-related content material, revise Mailchimp’s content material insurance policies to get rid of political issues. It additionally urged Intuit to think about including bitcoin to its company treasury as a hedge in opposition to synthetic intelligence disruption.
“We believe TurboTax, Intuit’s flagship product, has a high risk of being automated away by AI,” Cole wrote. “While we appreciate Intuit’s investments in AI internally, we believe an additional hedge is warranted—and that a bitcoin war chest is the best option available.”
The transfer follows Coles’ February letter to GameStop, during which he urged the corporate to transform its $5 billion money reserve into bitcoin. Since receiving the letter, GameStop confirmed that it’s going to add bitcoin to its steadiness sheet and has efficiently completed a $1.5 billion convertible be aware providing — positioning itself as one of many first main retailers to align its treasury technique with what Strive referred to as the “Bitcoin standard.”
The transfer marked a big early win for Strive’s broader marketing campaign to reshape company finance and governance round what Cole describes as “apolitical excellence” and long-term shareholder worth, free from ideological agendas.
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