Michigan Pension Fund Goes Big on Bitcoin ETFs—Triples Down in Bold Bet
Wall Street's institutional FOMO just got a Midwestern makeover. Michigan's state pension fund is loading up on Bitcoin ETFs—and tripling its exposure in a single move.
From Rust Belt to Crypto Belt
The $70 billion pension system quietly upped its stake in spot Bitcoin ETFs this quarter, per its latest 13-F filing. No fancy derivatives, no Grayscale workarounds—just cold, hard regulated crypto exposure.
Main Street Meets Satoshi
While hedge funds play hot potato with meme coins, Michigan's retirement system is doing something radical: treating Bitcoin like an actual asset class. The move follows similar bets by corporate treasuries and sovereign wealth funds—but with that signature Detroit pragmatism.
The Punchline
Nothing says 'hedge against inflation' like a government pension fund buying the thing that drops 20% before lunch. But hey—at least they're not chasing yield in commercial real estate.
Across the divide
State pension funds nationwide are increasingly allocating to digital assets, with the State of Wisconsin's Investment Board now owning over 6 million shares of BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) fund worth $387.3 million.
Even still, Bitcoin ETFs have experienced four consecutive days of outflows totaling $1.4 billion, according to Farside Investors data.
However, ARKB saw outflows only once during the four-day stretch, with a $5.1 million exit last Friday.
Standard Chartered projects Bitcoin reaching $200,000 by year’s end, with pension funds expected to drive much of this growth.
"We expect institutional flows into Bitcoin in 2025 to exceed 2024 levels, with fresh capital likely to come from long-only funds classified as 'pension funds'," the multinational bank said in a February report.
"If positive action does come, as we expect, we think institutional flows will continue," it said.
