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Reports indicate that the State of Michigan Retirement System recently invested over $10 million in ethereum exchange-traded funds (ETFs), specifically in Grayscale’s Ethereum Trust and its Ethereum Mini Trust.
The Rise of Crypto in Retirement Portfolios
In July, news surfaced that the State of Michigan Retirement System (SMRS) had also put funds into Ark Invest’s and 21shares’ ETF, known as ARKB. Initially, it acquired approximately $6.59 million in ARKB shares, and that holding has since grown to around $6.9 million. Around this time, Steven Fulop, mayor of Jersey City, N.J., announced that the city’s pension fund would start investing in bitcoin ETF shares.
On Monday, Matthew Sigel, Vaneck’s head of digital asset research, pointed out that the SMRS maintains a $10 million stake in Grayscale’s ether funds.
Sigel stated:
State of Michigan Files 13F Discloses New ETH ETF Holdings; Becomes Top 5 Holder of ETH & ETHE.
Grayscale’s Ethereum Trust trades under the ticker ETHE, while Grayscale’s Ethereum Mini Trust uses the symbol ETH. Michigan’s pension fund isn’t alone in venturing into cryptocurrency investments. The State of Wisconsin Investment Board, for example, has allocated funds to buy Blackrock’s IBIT. Additionally, the firefighters’ pension fund in Houston and Ontario’s teachers’ pension fund have both explored crypto-related investments in recent years.
The steady interest from retirement funds in digital assets like ethereum ETFs signals a shift in traditional finance towards cryptocurrency. This growing trend reflects a sentiment that digital assets are edging into the mainstream. With state funds, city funds, and even educational pension funds joining in, the movement emphasizes a thoughtful embrace of crypto within finance’s more conservative circles.