The State of Wisconsin Investment Board (SWIB) has significantly added to its Bitcoin bet by purchasing more shares in a popular crypto exchange-traded fund (ETF). SWIB doubled its holdings in BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust to over 6 million.
A Feb. 14 13F filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission reveals that the State of Wisconsin Investment Board, the entity overseeing the state’s pension fund, now owns over 6 million shares of BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) fund, worth $335.9 million as of press time.
The SWIB in 2024 became the first of its kind to report a Bitcoin ETF purchase, disclosing it had bought shares from both the BlackRock and Grayscale Bitcoin exchange-traded funds collectively worth $164 million at the time. However, Friday’s filing shows that the fund no longer holds any position in Grayscale’s BTC ETF.
IBIT has swiftly become one of the fastest-growing spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds, accumulating a staggering $40 billion in net inflows since it went live in January 2024. The fund’s assets under management reached $56 billion as of Friday.
Although Bitcoin is infamous for its high volatility, institutional investors have a long time horizon for their investments, which allows them to enjoy long-term price gains while disregarding short-term bearish price action. Notably, Bitcoin is emerging as a notable contender to traditional reserve assets like gold and the U.S. dollar, with the potential to transform the global monetary order.
Under the new Donald Trump regime, the conversation around Bitcoin has shifted dramatically. Once skeptical, President-elect Donald Trump has expressed support for Bitcoin as a strategic asset, outlining plans for the creation of a U.S. digital asset stockpile to boost economic stability.
It’s worth mentioning that other U.S. pension funds are also purchasing crypto exposure. Last year, for example, the State of Michigan Retirement System reported that it had acquired shares in both Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs. And earlier this week, Goldman Sachs disclosed its holdings of more than $1.5 billion in US spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), including around $1.2 billion in BlackRock’s IBIT.
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