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- Japan’s GPIF, a pension fund holding $1.5 trillion in assets under management, has requested information on Bitcoin and gold to expand its investment portfolio.
- Bitcoin continues to attract institutional investors, with Galaxy Digital tripling its assets in the last year as professional investors rushed to gain from the crypto bull market.
The world’s largest pension fund is weighing investing in Bitcoin and gold, a new report has revealed. The Government Pension Investment Fund (GPIF) ’s entry into the crypto industry would lead to billions of dollars in new inflows and push BTC to six figures after its recent rally petered out over the past two weeks.
Bloomberg Japan was the first to break the news today, revealing that GPIF seeks to diversify its investment portfolio. The fund has focused on mainstream assets like bonds and stocks and alternative assets like real estate and infrastructure.
Breaking: Japan’s Government Pension Investment Fund, the world’s largest pension fund with $1.5 trillion under management, announced that it will seek information on business diversification, including Bitcoin, gold, forests and farmland.
This announcement is a request for…
— Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) March 19, 2024
According to Bloomberg, GPIF is studying academic materials, indexes and analytical tools on the top crypto, “including investment examples, investment philosophy, how to incorporate into the portfolio of pension funds.” It’s also looking into how other major global funds deal with crypto and gold before making its final decision.
However, it clarified that it was merely requesting information and hadn’t decided to move into Bitcoin. The information it gathers will dictate whether the fund launches digital asset products in the future.
The announcement comes a month after Japan’s cabinet approved a bill that allows investment firms to hold crypto in their portfolios. According to local sources, the bill now lies with parliament and would open new avenues for fundraising for Japanese firms.
Institutional Investors Pile for Bitcoin
GPIF would be joining other major pension funds that have invested in Bitcoin. The Houston Firefighters Pension Fund was the first in the US to invest in Bitcoin in 2021. Closer home in neighboring Korea, the National Pension Service dove into crypto last year by purchasing Coinbase shares. Reports in the past have revealed that over 90% of government pension funds favored crypto.
However, some of the investments have backfired. Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, one of Canada’s largest, invested $150 million in crypto lender Celsius Network but lost it all when the company collapsed in 2022, as Crypto News Flash reported at the time. Another Canadian fund, the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, lost the $95 million it had invested in FTX.
GPIF’s interest in crypto comes at a time when institutional interest in Bitcoin is at an all-time high. Galaxy Digital, the crypto investment firm founded and led by ex-Wall Street titan Mark Novogratz, announced this week that its asset under management had hit $10.1 billion, a new record high after a 25% surge in February. The company, which manages crypto investment for the big-pocketed investors, has seen its assets triple over the past year.
Galaxy Asset Management has exceeded $10 billion in AUM for the first time ever, solidifying our position as a global leader in digital asset management. We are proud of our continuous progress in enabling investor access to the growing digital economy. Congrats @SteveKurz and… https://t.co/k659kfI9pu
— Mike Novogratz (@novogratz) March 18, 2024
Meanwhile, Bitcoin trades at $63,506, dipping by 6.6% in the past day as the momentum that took it to record highs a week ago fades.
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