Wisconsin pension fund increases Bitcoin holdings to $321M

The State of Wisconsin Investment Board (SWIB), which manages the state's pension fund, has significantly increased its Bitcoin (CRYPTO:BTC) exposure to approximately $321 million.

According to a February 14, 2025, filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), SWIB has more than doubled its Bitcoin holdings.

The pension fund's previous disclosure in May 2024 revealed $164 million in Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs).

At that time, SWIB held 2.4 million shares of BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), valued at $100 million, and 1 million shares of Grayscale’s Bitcoin Trust (GBTC), valued at $64 million.

The recent filing indicates that the fund has shifted its strategy by allocating all of its Bitcoin exposure to IBIT and divesting entirely from GBTC.

This move highlights a growing trend among pension funds to incorporate Bitcoin as a hedge against currency inflation and to diversify their portfolios.

Despite Bitcoin's volatility, pension funds often have long-term investment horizons.

Allie Itami, an attorney at Lathrop GPM, stated that state pension funds might find it easier to adopt crypto than privately managed funds due to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) of 1974.

Following Wisconsin's initial disclosure, other state pension funds have also reported holdings in Bitcoin ETFs.

For example, the State of Michigan Retirement System reported $6.6 million in Bitcoin exposure in July 2024.

Florida's chief financial officer, Jimmy Patronis, also urged the state's pension manager to consider allocating a portion of its assets to Bitcoin in October 2024.

More recently, in February 2025, North Carolina House of Representatives speaker Destin Hall introduced a bill to allow the state treasury to invest in digital assets indirectly through ETFs.

At the time of reporting, the Bitcoin (BTC) price was $96,300.12.