The Wisconsin Investment Board became the first state pension to purchase an in-kind Bitcoin ETF, holding more than $162 million.
Today, the Wisconsin State Board of Investments (SWIB) revealed a significant investment in a Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) in a recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). According to the filing, SWIB holds nearly $100 million worth of BlackRock Spot Bitcoin ETF (IBIT).
Just in: 🇺🇸 The Wisconsin State Board of Investment disclosed that it holds nearly $100 million in BlackRock cash. #Bitcoin ETFs. pic.twitter.com/Jdv4uKSi9J
— Bitcoin Magazine (@BitcoinMagazine) May 14, 2024
This disclosure marks SWIB as the first state agency to publicly announce its physical Bitcoin ETF holdings and represents a notable step toward integrating Bitcoin into existing investment portfolios.
“Wow, the state pension bought $IBIT in the first quarter. Normally you don’t get these large institutions in 13Fs for a year or so (when ETFs get more liquid), but as we’ve seen, this is not a typical launch.” Bloomberg Senior ETF Analyst Eric Balchunas commented on the news. “It’s a good sign. Expect more because institutions tend to move in packs.”
SWIB also revealed in the filing that it holds more than $63 million in Grayscale’s spot Bitcoin ETF (GBTC), with a total of more than $162 million between these two holdings.
The recent wave of 13F filings from institutions disclosing their Bitcoin ETF holdings highlights the growing institutional interest in Bitcoin. These filings include prominent institutional investors such as SWIB, as well as major traditional companies such as JPMorgan Chase, the largest US bank, which has disclosed its physical Bitcoin ETF holdings while acting as a market maker for these ETFs.
“This is a small portion of a large public investment fund (the total value of all positions included in its 13F filings is $37.8 billion), but its long-term significance cannot be overstated,” said market researcher and analyst MacroScope. “Wisconsin now has the second largest IBIT reporting holding in the world. This will be closely analyzed and discussed extensively by other state investment committees. Watch for others to follow in the coming quarters.”
