Benzinga - The Wisconsin Investment Commission has made headlines with its recent investment move, according to SEC filings.
What Happened: The Commission, which manages Wisconsin's public pension and trust funds, disclosed holdings worth $99 million in BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (NASDAQ:IBIT).
This makes Wisconsin the first U.S. state to report such a significant investment in Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) through a state-managed fund.
Established in 1951, the Wisconsin Investment Commission is tasked with overseeing and investing the state's public pension and other trust funds.
Wisconsin, the sixteenth largest state in the U.S., filed its quarterly 13F report with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Tuesday.
The disclosure aligns with the March 15 deadline for institutional investment managers with at least $100 million in assets under management to report their holdings.
The investment in BlackRock's IBIT ETF marks a pioneering move for state-level public funds into the realm of cryptocurrency.
Additionally, the Wisconsin Investment Commission reported purchasing shares worth approximately $64 million of Grayscale’s Bitcoin Trust (OTC:GBTC).
These investments come at a time when the market is keenly observing quarterly filings to gauge the interest of large traditional finance (TradFi) funds in Bitcoin ETFs since their launch earlier this year.
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Why It Matters: Eric Balchunas, Senior ETF Analyst for Bloomberg, expressed his astonishment at this development.
“Wow, a state pension bought $IBIT in the first quarter. Normally you don’t get these big fish institutions in the 13Fs for a year or so (when the ETF gets more liquidity), but as we’ve seen, these are no ordinary launches. Good sign, expect more, as institutions tend to move in herds,” Balchunas noted.
This strategic investment by Wisconsin's public fund could signal a broader acceptance and adoption of Bitcoin and cryptocurrency assets by institutional investors.
The state's move is likely to prompt other public and private institutional investors to consider similar investments, potentially leading to a wave of institutional interest in digital assets.
What’s Next: The implications of such a significant investment will be a focal point at Benzinga’s Future of Digital Assets event on Nov. 19.
Industry leaders and experts will gather to discuss the evolving landscape of digital finance and the growing role of cryptocurrencies in institutional portfolios.
Read Next: President Biden Cracks Down On Chinese-Backed Crypto Mining Facility Near U.S. Missile Base
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