Key Takeaways
- Michigan has invested $6.6 million in the ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF.
- Wisconsin Retirement System holds $99 million in BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust.
- Retail investors have driven $32 billion into new bitcoin ETFs in six months.
The State of Michigan Retirement System, overseeing $143.9 million in pension assets for state employees, has invested $6.6 million in the ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF (ARKB.Z). This marks the second confirmed pension fund investment in spot bitcoin ETFs launched this year, highlighting a slow but steady institutional interest in Bitcoin.
Previously, in May, the Wisconsin Retirement System, managing $156 billion in assets, disclosed holdings of BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust and a stake in the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust, valued at $99 million and $63 million respectively as of March’s end. The latest positions from Wisconsin’s pension fund are yet to be disclosed.
These investments are revealed in 13-F filings to the Securities and Exchange Commission, submitted approximately 45 days post-quarter. Such filings might not reflect current holdings but provide insights into institutional interest.
Retail investors have contributed significantly to the $32 billion inflow into nine newly launched bitcoin ETFs over the past six months, as per VettaFi. Analysts are closely monitoring for an uptick in institutional demand, which could stabilize Bitcoin’s often-extreme volatility.
Todd Sohn, an ETF analyst at Strategas, said:
Institutions allocating to these funds are likely to have a longer time horizon.
Separately, the mayor of Jersey City, New Jersey, announced plans to allocate funds to Bitcoin ETFs via social media, though no timeline was provided.
The State of Michigan Retirement System has not commented on its recent investment.
