Wisconsin holds nearly $170m in Bitcoin ETFs

May 14, 2024 at 5:10 PM UTC

Edited by Brian Stone

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Wisconsin holds nearly $170m in Bitcoin ETFs

Wisconsin’s Investment Board has capital invested in the two largest spot Bitcoin ETFs and shares in several crypto companies.

A U.S. SEC filing on May 14 showed that the State of Wisconsin holds 2.4 million shares of BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) worth almost $99.1 million.

According to the document, the jurisdiction also owns over 1 million Grayscale GBTC shares valued at more than $63.3 million at the close of March. The filing indicates that Wisconsin’s government purchased its spot Bitcoin (BTC) ETF shares before the year’s first quarter ended.

Bitcoin ETF adoption expands

Established in 1951, the State of Wisconsin Investment Board manages and invests public and trust funds for the state. Despite skepticism from Wall Street figures like JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, the investment reaffirms an appetite for Bitcoin-backed products in the United States.

ETF expert Eric Balchunas said Wisconsin’s decision could herald entries from other institutions and government agencies. The state’s investment board also has holdings in crypto equities from firms like Coinbase, Riot Platform, and MicroStrategy.

Wow, a state pension bought $IBIT in 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 https://t.co/leKVe2CK1S
— Eric Balchunas (@EricBalchunas) May 14, 2024

Spot BTC ETFs have recorded a staggering run since the U.S. SEC issued approval for 11 products in January. The largest new market player, BlackRock, nearly rivals incumbent Grayscale, and 10 new issuers have amassed over $20 billion in assets under management less than six months after launch.

Banks like Wells Fargo, which initially shunned the products, have since enabled exposure to spot BTC ETFs for clients and even invested in-house capital in offerings from Grayscale.