The adoption of digital assets, particularly Bitcoin by traditional institutions keeps increasing, signaling progressive embrace from these entities. Notably, the State of Michigan Retirement System has reported owning 110,000 ARK Bitcoin ETF shares, which equates to about $6.6 million.
Michigan Follows Wisconsin’s Lead
According to a filing with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the figures represent the State of Michigan Retirement System Bitcoin portfolio as at June 30, 2024. The Michigan pension fund follows the footstep of its Wisconsin counterpart.
Interestingly, earlier this year in May, the State of Wisconsin Investment Board (SWIB) revealed its exposure to cryptocurrency. SWIB, the agency that manages the state’s public pensions, had acquired nearly $100 million worth of shares from BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF (IBIT).
The recent filing by the Michigan Retirement System validates Eric Balchunas’ prediction that more pension fund administrators will bet on Bitcoin ETF just like SWIB did back in May.
Pensions Funds’ Growing Confidence in Bitcoin
The U.S. pension funds has a combined assets capital of over $25 trillion. Notably, the investment by some of the state agencies in Bitcoin marks a significant development in the history of digital assets. Traditionally, pension fund administrators are averse to risky investments, hence betting on Bitcoin signals the growing confidence among conventional investors.
Some crypto analysts are optimistic that with the recent approval of spot Ethereum ETF by the regulatory body, investment options have further gained expansion for potential investors. Although the SEC granted trading approval to only eight issuers, other asset managers are expected to jump on the train of the first altcoin to gain ETF status.
Meanwhile, two asset management firms, VanEck and 21Shares have filed applications for a Solana ETF in the United States. While these filings still have long regulatory hurdles to overcome, it signals the array of options that potential traditional investors, like pension agencies, would have to pick from in the future.
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