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

By Investor Empires On May 18, 2024

The Wisconsin State Investment Board (SWIB) today disclosed its significant investments in Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) through a recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). According to the filing, SWIB owns approximately $100 million of BlackRock's Spot Bitcoin ETF (IBIT).

JUST IN: 🇺🇸 Wisconsin Investment Board reveals it owns nearly $100 million in BlackRock stock #Bitcoin European Training Foundation. pic.twitter.com/Jdv4uKSi9J

— Bitcoin Magazine (@BitcoinMagazine) May 14, 2024

This disclosure marks SWIB as the first institution nationwide to publicly announce its holdings in Bitcoin exchange-traded funds, signaling a notable step in integrating Bitcoin into traditional investment portfolios.

“Wow, he bought a government pension $IBIT in the first quarter. Normally you don't get these big fish institutions in 13Fs for a year or so (when ETFs get more liquidity) but as we've seen, these are not normal launches.” , Bloomberg Chief Funds Analyst Eric Balchunas Comment In the news. “A good indicator, we expect more, as institutions tend to move in herds.”

SWIB was also detected in Deposit It owns over $63 million of Grayscale's Spot Bitcoin ETF (GBTC), with a total of over $162 million between these two holdings.

The recent wave of 13F filings by institutions disclosing their holdings of Bitcoin ETFs highlights the growing institutional interest in Bitcoin. These filings include not only prominent institutional investors like SWIB, but also large traditional companies like America's largest bank, JPMorgan Chase, which disclosed its spot Bitcoin ETF holdings because it acts as a market maker for these ETFs.

“This is a small part of a huge public investment fund (the total value of all positions in the 13F filing is $37.8 billion). But its long-term importance cannot be overstated.” advertiser Market researcher and analyst, MacroScope. “Wisconsin is now the second largest holder of IBIT reports globally. This will be closely analyzed and widely discussed by other state investment boards. Watch for others to follow in the coming quarters.”