Wisconsin State Holds $163 Million in BlackRock, Grayscale Bitcoin ETF Shares

The State of Wisconsin's Investment Board holds shares worth nearly $163 million in top Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), a regulatory filing shows.

According to the 13F form filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the state's board bought 2,450,400 shares of BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) ETF, now valued at $99.1 million, and 1,013,000 shares of the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) worth $63.6 million, in the first quarter of this year.

The State of Wisconsin's Investment Board is responsible for Wisconsinites' pension funds and other trusts.

Other than the Bitcoin ETFs, the Investment Board also has invested in Coinbase, America's biggest crypto exchange, and MicroStrategy, a software company than owns more Bitcoin than any other public firm. It also holds investments in Bitcoin mining firms such as Riot Platforms, CleanSpark, Marathon Digital, and Cipher Mining.

The filing showcases the example of traditional institutions seeking exposure to the biggest cryptocurrency by market cap.

IBIT and GBTC are two of popular investment vehicles that give investors an easy way to get exposure to Bitcoin. They trade on an American stock exchange. IBIT in particular has broken records since its January launch, notching huge inflows as ordinary people buy in on the Bitcoin craze.

Amid Bitcoin ETF Frenzy, When Will BlackRock Flip Grayscale?

Grayscale is the biggest fund manager within the crypto space. BlackRock is the biggest fund manager in the world, full stop. Both are huge players in offering Bitcoin spot exchange-traded funds (ETF), but Grayscale’s head start is fading. Grayscale started with a technical advantage: it had a type of product that operated for years like a closed-end fund, and investors couldn’t redeem their shares easily but it was a respected brand. Investors knew about it.  Now as an ETF, investors can redeem...

The ETFs—approved by the SEC in January—allow traditional investors to get exposure to Bitcoin. Before, buying the cryptocurrency was considered complex as one would have to use a crypto exchange and store the digital asset.

But following the historic approval of the 11 ETFs, investors can now buy shares that trade on a U.S. stock exchange. The shares track the price of the digital coin and can easily be bought and sold via brokerage accounts.

Edited by Andrew Hayward