Opinion: Wisconsin Pension Plan May Increase Bitcoin Spot ETF Investment

The Wisconsin Investment Board (SWIB) purchased $164 million worth of BlackRock IBIT and Grayscale GBTC shares in the first quarter. David Krause, a professor of finance at Marquette University in the United States, said that this investment may be just a trial phase, and SWIB is expected to increase its investment further, and other pension plans may follow suit. As of the end of 2023, SWIB managed assets of approximately $156 billion, and Bitcoin spot ETFs accounted for 0.1% of its portfolio. Krause believes that this investment is a "test of the waters" to test the public's reaction to Bitcoin ETFs. David Krause said: "I think this is just an entry point. I think they are testing the public's reaction to owning this asset, and they use it as a trial because it has little impact on the portfolio at present until the holdings reach 1% or 2%." In the first three months of this year, nearly 500 institutional investors allocated Bitcoin spot ETFs, of which hedge fund Millennium Management held $2 billion in Bitcoin spot ETFs, accounting for 3% of its total assets under management. (CoinDesk)