Wisconsin Investment Board Becomes First State Pension To Buy Spot Bitcoin ETFs, Holds Over $162 Million

At this time, the State of Wisconsin Funding Board (SWIB) has revealed its substantial investments in Bitcoin Trade-Traded Funds (ETFs) by means of a current submitting with the Securities and Trade Fee (SEC). In accordance with the submitting, SWIB holds practically $100 million price of BlackRock’s spot Bitcoin ETF (IBIT).

JUST IN: 🇺🇸 State of Wisconsin Funding Board discloses it holds nearly $100 million of BlackRock’s spot #Bitcoin ETF. pic.twitter.com/Jdv4uKSi9J

— Bitcoin Journal (@BitcoinMagazine) May 14, 2024

This disclosure marks SWIB as the primary state-level establishment to publicly announce its holdings in spot Bitcoin ETFs, signaling a notable step within the integration of Bitcoin into conventional funding portfolios. 

“Wow, a state pension purchased $IBIT in first quarter. Usually you aren’t getting these massive fish establishments within the 13Fs for a yr or so (when the ETF will get extra liquidity) however as we have seen these aren’t any odd launches,” Bloomberg Senior ETF Analyst Eric Balchunas commented on the information. “Good signal, count on extra, as establishments have a tendency to maneuver in herds.”

SWIB additionally disclosed within the submitting that it holds over $63 million of Grayscale’s spot Bitcoin ETF (GBTC), totaling over $162 million between these two holdings.

The current wave of 13F filings by establishments disclosing their Bitcoin ETF holdings highlights the growing institutional curiosity in Bitcoin. These filings not solely embody outstanding institutional buyers like SWIB but additionally main conventional corporations resembling the biggest financial institution in America, JPMorgan Chase, which has disclosed its spot Bitcoin ETF holdings because it serves as a market maker for these ETFs.

“It is a small a part of a large public funding fund (complete worth of all positions within the 13F submitting is $37.8 billion). However the long-term significance can’t be overstated,” said market researcher and analyst, MacroScope. “Wisconsin is now the second-largest reporting holder of IBIT globally. This will likely be intently analyzed and extensively mentioned by different state funding boards. Look ahead to others to observe in coming quarters.”