The Michigan state pension fund has allocated $6.6 million to a bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) as part of its investment strategy.
This signifies the second confirmed investment carried out
by a pension fund in the newly introduced Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs),
showcasing an increasing interest from traditional institutional investors in
these assets. This development is a positive step forward for the
cryptocurrency market.
In May, the Wisconsin Investment Board, which manages $156
billion in assets for the Wisconsin Retirement System, disclosed holdings in
BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust and the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust.
These holdings were valued at $99 million and $63 million,
respectively, as of the end of March. The pension fund has yet to file its
second-quarter portfolio update.
The quarterly disclosures, known as 13-F filings, are
submitted to the Securities and Exchange Commission approximately 45 days after
the conclusion of each quarter and may not accurately reflect current
positions.
Although retail investors have accounted for the majority of
the $32 billion that has been invested in the nine recently launched bitcoin
ETFs over the past six months, according to VettaFi, analysts are closely
monitoring for any indications of increased demand from institutional entities
such as the Michigan pension fund.
“Institutions allocating to these funds are likely to have a
longer time horizon,” said Todd Sohn, an ETF analyst at Strategas. A greater
preponderance of long-term investors should reduce the often-extreme volatility
of bitcoin, other analysts say.
The mayor of Jersey City, New Jersey, announced via the
social media platform X that they intend to allocate funds to bitcoin ETFs, but
did not specify a timeline.
The State of Michigan Retirement System declined to comment
on the matter.