Starting in 2019, pension funds have started investing in cryptocurrencies. Which countries allow investing in bitcoins and cryptocurrencies and in what ways
The launch of spot Bitcoin-ETF has led to the popularization of cryptocurrencies not only by financial institutions, but also by traditional pension funds. According to data for 2024 alone, such funds have invested hundreds of millions of dollars one way or another in the crypto market.
Pension funds South Korea
South Korea's National Pension Service, the third-largest pension fund management asset in the world, bought $33.7 million worth of MicroStrategy shares in the second quarter of 2024, according to TheBlock.
A filing with the SEC showed that the fund bought 24,000 shares of Microstrategy stock in the second quarter. The South Korean fund also has 229,000 shares of Coinbase, the largest US exchange, on its balance sheet worth $51 million.
Norway
The state retirement fund of Norway invests, though not directly, in cryptocurrencies, and also invests in crypto projects by buying shares of MicroStrategy, MARA (formerly Marathon Digital), Coinbase and Block Inc, which hold physical bitcoin on their balance sheets.
Analysts estimate that the Norwegian fund indirectly owns more than 2.44k BTC. And the increase in the proportion of shares purchased has led to the fund's balance sheet growing by 938 BTC since the beginning of 2024, Vetle Lunda, principal analyst at K33 Research, shared his observations.
USA, Japan and Australia
Australian pension funds are among the first to invest in cryptocurrency. Coindesk reports that since 2019, Australia's self-managed pension funds have more than tripled their investments in the crypto market to $664 million in 2023.
Pension funds in the U.S. and Japan have also been active in the crypto market. Some are buying exchange-traded products. And others are negotiating and exploring options to buy crypto assets or related exchange-traded products.
For example, the Michigan State Retirement Fund invested about $7.3 million in Ark Invest's bitcoin ETF in late June, according to Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Eric Balchunas, who specializes in exchange-traded funds.
Steven Fulop, the mayor of Jersey City, which is in the state of New Jersey, said in late July that the city's pension fund would invest in the bitcoin-ETF. And the organization is in the process of getting all the necessary regulatory approvals, according to TheBlock.
Similar initiatives are under consideration in the Arizona Senate, which is studying a proposal to include bitcoin-ETFs in the investment portfolios of the state's pension funds, according to BitcoinMagazine.
Japan's state pension fund though doesn't invest in cryptocurrency companies. But it is considering such options as part of its portfolio diversification strategy, according to Bloomberg.
In March 2024, the fund began looking at low-liquidity assets that include bitcoin. The investment rationale is being analyzed as part of the development of innovative investment strategies. $BTC
