Jersey City Pension Fund to Invest in Bitcoin ETFs

Steven Fulop, the mayor of Jersey City, New Jersey, has announced that the city’s pension fund will allocate a portion of its investments into Bitcoin ETFs.

Fulop also expressed his long-standing belief in cryptocurrency, although he had not publicly mentioned Bitcoin or other assets before July 25.

Jersey City Updates Paperwork with SEC

In a July 25 post on X, Mayor Fulop announced that they are updating paperwork with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to allow Bitcoin ETF investment.

Not my normal subject matter in a post but I’ll share anyway – the question on whether Crypto/Bitcoin is here to stay is largely over + crypto/Bitcoin won. The #JerseyCity pension fund is in process of updating paperwork to the SEC to allocate % of the fund to Bitcoin ETFs… https://t.co/5iNEqRqHGM

— Steven Fulop (@StevenFulop) July 25, 2024

While the exact percentage of the pension fund allocated to Bitcoin was not revealed, Mayor Fulop indicated it would be similar to the 2% allocation of the Wisconsin Pension Fund. The process is anticipated to be completed by the end of summer.

Fulop expressed strong confidence in the permanence of crypto and Bitcoin and highlighted his belief in blockchain as a significant technological advancement akin to the Internet.

A mid-May 13F filing with the SEC by the State of Wisconsin Investment Board revealed significant investments in crypto assets, including $100 million in BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust and nearly $64 million in the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust. The board also holds shares in crypto firms such as Coinbase, Block, Marathon Digital, and Riot Platforms.

Other smaller pension funds, like the Houston Firefighters’ Relief and Retirement Fund, with around $5 billion in assets, have been involved in crypto investments for several years. Similarly, Fairfax County, Virginia’s pension funds have invested in the crypto sector, gaining exposure through VanEck’s New Finance Income Fund, which became a creditor to the bankrupt crypto firm Genesis last year.

Crypto ETF Interest Is Growing

In January, the SEC approved the listing and trading of spot Bitcoin ETFs on U.S. exchanges. Despite this green light, only Wisconsin and Jersey City’s publicly run pension funds appear to be exploring these crypto ETFs.

Meanwhile, Bloomberg Senior ETF analyst Eric Balchunas noted in May that it’s unusual for large institutions to appear in 13F filings within the first year of an ETF’s launch due to liquidity considerations. However, the rapid interest in these spot Bitcoin ETFs suggests an exceptional launch, indicating that more institutions are likely to follow, as they often move in clusters.

Globally, public pension plans are also showing interest in cryptos. For example, Japan’s Government Pension Investment Fund, the world’s largest with $1.4 trillion in assets, requested information on Bitcoin investments earlier this year.