The State of Wisconsin Investment Board (SWIB) has reported its investments in Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) offered by Grayscale and BlackRock. In a filing with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission on May 14, SWIB revealed that it held over 2.4 million shares in the BlackRock iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) and over 1 million shares of Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC), valued at approximately $100 million and $64 million respectively. The filing indicated that the Wisconsin Retirement System may have exposure to crypto investments through these asset management firms. As of December 2023, SWIB managed over $156 billion in assets, with nearly 48% allocated to public equity investments. Other investments included shares in Coinbase, MicroStrategy, and CleanSpark. However, the SEC cautioned against assuming the accuracy and completeness of the information provided by the state entity. Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas noted that it was unusual for large institutional investors to disclose their holdings in ETFs so soon after their launch, but suggested that this could indicate a trend of more institutions entering the market. This news follows reports from major banks, such as Wells Fargo and JPMorgan Chase, disclosing holdings of less than $1 million in spot Bitcoin ETFs. Meanwhile, Susquehanna International Group revealed that it had invested over $1 billion in shares of various spot crypto ETFs in the first quarter of 2024, including GBTC, IBIT, Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC), ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BITO), and Bitwise Bitcoin ETF. The SEC approved the listing and trading of spot Bitcoin ETFs on U.S. exchanges in January, and it is expected to decide on a spot Ether ETF by May 23.
Wisconsin State discloses $164M investments in Bitcoin ETFs