MassMutual Makes a Big Bitcoin Bet, Invests $100 Million

Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co. bought $100 million of Bitcoin for its general investment account, according to a press release.

The buy was facilitated by the financial services company NYDIG, which specializes in managing Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.

Said NYDIG CEO Robert Gutmann, “We are proud of this incredible moment in the history of both Bitcoin and the insurance industry.

MassMutual has also acquired a $5 million dollar stake in the company—a distinct vote of confidence in the crypto market, even if it’s a relatively small investment for the insurance giant.

In a statement to Decrypt, a spokesperson for MassMutual said that they hope the Bitcoin investment will provide “measured yet meaningful exposure to a growing economic aspect of our increasingly digital world.”

MassMutual’s investment is the latest in growing trend; MicroStrategy, once a relatively anonymous tech company, made headlines earlier this year when it decided to put $250 million in Bitcoin (and then, more recently, $225 million more). 

MicroStrategy actually had its stock downgraded earlier this week by analysts who think the company may be too Bitcoin-hungry, but the moves kicked off a string of large institutional investments from companies like Square (Twitter honcho Jack Dorsey, who’s also the CEO of Square, is a longtime Bitcoiner).

That may also have had something to do with the recent rise in the price of Bitcoin, which recently exceeded its previous all-time high of $19,783, though it’s since settled back down to the $18,000 range.

Bitcoin has slumped a little this past week—it’s sitting at $18,398, and is up just about 0.75% today at the time of writing; it’s down 5% for the week.

Editor's note: This story was updated after publication to include comments from MassMutual and to provide additional clarity.