Wisconsin Pension Fund Goes All-In on Bitcoin: A Cautionary Tale?

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Move over, Wall Street. The State of Wisconsin Investment Board, the entity overseeing the state’s pension fund, has decided to take a bold leap into the world of cryptocurrencies. According to a recent filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, the fund has increased its Bitcoin exposure to a whopping $321 million.

Now, you might be thinking, “Wow, that’s a lot of dough!” And you’d be right. But let’s not forget that this is the same pension fund that previously disclosed holding $164 million in Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in a May 2024 SEC filing.

At the time, the pension fund held approximately 2.4 million shares of BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), valued at $100 million, and 1 million shares of Grayscale’s Bitcoin Trust (GBTC), valued at $64 million.

But it seems the folks at Wisconsin’s pension fund have decided to double down on their Bitcoin bet. Their most recent filing indicates that the fund has allocated all of its BTC exposure into IBIT and no longer holds any shares of GBTC.

So, why the sudden love for Bitcoin? Well, according to Attorney Allie Itami of Lathrop GPM, state pension funds can adopt crypto more easily than privately managed funds due to fiduciary restrictions under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) of 1974.

But let’s not forget that Bitcoin is notorious for its high volatility. However, pension funds have a long time horizon for their investments that allows them to capture long-term price appreciation while ignoring short-term price movements.

Following Wisconsin’s May 2024 filing disclosing BTC exposure, several state pension funds also disclosed BTC ETF holdings. In July 2024, the State of Michigan Retirement System reported $6.6 million in BTC exposure, which is only a tiny fraction of the multibillion-dollar fund’s assets under management.

Florida chief financial officer Jimmy Patronis wrote a letter to the Florida State Board of Administration — the state’s pension manager — urging the fund to allocate a portion of its assets to BTC in October 2024.

More recently, in February 2025, North Carolina House of Representatives speaker Destin Hall introduced a bill to allow the state treasury to invest in digital assets indirectly by holding ETFs.

So, there you have it. The State of Wisconsin Investment Board is now the proud owner of a massive Bitcoin stash. Will this gamble pay off in the long run? Only time will tell. But in the meantime, let’s all sit back, relax, and watch the crypto rollercoaster unfold. 🚀🌕

2025-02-14 22:25