An analyst has claimed that the Norwegian sovereign wealth fund’s significant increase in indirect Bitcoin exposure, now valued at over $144 million, may not have been a deliberate strategy.

“The growth likely originates from pre-determined algo-based sector weighting and risk diversification, it's unlikely to stem from an intentional choice to amass exposure,” K33 Research senior analyst Vetle Lunde explained in an Aug. 14 X post , following the release of the Government Pension Fund of Norway's first half of 2024 financial report.

Deliberate Bitcoin exposure would be more obvious

Lunde explained that if it were a deliberate move to expose the fund to more Bitcoin ( BTC ), there would be more “evidence of direct exposure initiatives.” Through changes in share allocations and new purchases, the fund increased its indirect Bitcoin ownership by 160.7% since December 2023, now holding 2,446 Bitcoin valued at around $144.8 million at the time of publication.

“It perfectly illustrates how Bitcoin is maturing as an asset and getting woven into any well-diversified portfolio,” he claimed.

Lunde pointed out that the increase in indirect exposure came from expanding its shareholdings in companies that hold Bitcoin. The fund increased its shareholdings  of Michael Saylor's MicroStrategy to account for 0.89% of its total portfolio.

Expands investments and starts new stake in Marathon Digital

Additionally, it increased its stake in cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase and Jack Dorsey's fintech firm Block Inc (formerly Square), and also started investing in the Bitcoin mining firm Marathon Digital .

As a result, each Norwegian essentially indirectly owns $27 worth of Bitcoin, Lunde added.

“The Norwegian indirect sat per capita exposure stood at 44,476 sats ($27) by the end of H1 2024.”

Related: Norway passes data center legislation signaling more scrutiny for Bitcoin miners

On Aug. 16, Cointelegraph reported that the third-largest public pension fund in the world, South Korea’s National Pension Service (NPS), just bought nearly $34 million worth of shares in MicroStrategy.

The fund purchased 24,500 MicroStrategy shares for a price of $33.75 million, an Aug. 13 filing with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission shows.

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