The Michigan State Retirement System has $6.6 million in 21Shares' ARKB ETF.
A growing number of U.S. state pension funds are buying spot Bitcoin ETFs following the Michigan pension fund disclosure. BTC surged again to $68,000 amid the Bitcoin 2024 conference.
The Michigan State Retirement System disclosed that it had invested $6.6 million in ARKB, 21Shares' spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund.
The Michigan pension fund disclosed its ETF investment in a Form 13-F filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. FilingThe pension fund holds 110,000 ARKB shares valued at $6.6 million, or about 0.004% of the $143 billion the state holds in pension funds.
US state pension fund adds Bitcoin ETF
The SEC approved trading of a Bitcoin ETF in January 2024, and cryptocurrencies have begun to gain further traction as they attract attention from institutional investors.
Since then, spot BTC ETFs have generated a total net asset value of over $59.4 billion, accounting for approximately 4.59% of Bitcoin's total supply. According to data from SosoValue, the U.S. spot Bitcoin ETF market has seen total net inflows exceed $17.54 billion.
When Michigan's pension fund buys an ETF, it signals greater exposure and adoption, but it's not the first U.S. state to enter the cryptocurrency ETF space via Bitcoin.
In May of this year, the Wisconsin State Investment Board disclosed that it had invested more than $99 million in a spot Bitcoin ETF, according to an SEC filing. The disbursement was made through BlackRock's IBIT ETF.
Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop also revealed plans to add a Bitcoin ETF to the city's pension fund.
Bitcoin prices soar
Meanwhile, Bitcoin is set to receive even more attention this week at the Bitcoin 2024 convention in Nashville, Tennessee. Donald Trump is scheduled to speak at the conference on June 27, which could further illuminate his support for the cryptocurrency.
Meanwhile, Bitcoin has surged more than 5% in the past 24 hours to nearly $68,000 as bulls hope for a new bounce over the weekend. If bulls can maintain their upward momentum, the price could retest the $70,000 level and head towards the all-time high it hit in March.
CryptoQuant CEO Ki Young Ju said in a post on X on Friday that Bitcoin's bull run could continue until 2025.
#Bitcoin bull cycle likely to continue until mid-2025
In a bull market, old whales reap the profits: their sales bring new capital into accumulation addresses, driving up realized prices.
In past cycles, the profit realization period was about 18 months. This time it started 4 months ago. pic.twitter.com/zkc8XxkmHi
— Ki Young-ju (@ki_young_ju) July 26, 2024
