Wisconsin Investment Board Expands Bitcoin ETF Holdings Amid Market Surge

The State of Wisconsin Investment Board (SWIB) significantly increased its bitcoin (BTC) exposure in the last quarter of 2024. According to a 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), SWIB reported holding over 6 million shares of BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) as of December 31, up from approximately 2.9 million shares three months earlier. The position, valued at $340 million at IBIT’s current price of $56.10, would be worth about $588 million based on bitcoin’s current price near $98,000.

SWIB became the first major U.S. public pension fund to report a bitcoin ETF purchase in 2024, initially acquiring 94,562 shares of IBIT and a stake in Grayscale’s Bitcoin Trust (GBTC), which it later sold. The State of Michigan Retirement System followed, disclosing investments in the ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF (ARKB) and two Grayscale bitcoin products.

SWIB, managing over $156 billion in assets for the Wisconsin Retirement System (WRS) and the State Investment Fund (SIF), is a major institutional player. Its growing bitcoin ETF holdings reflect increasing institutional interest in cryptocurrency. Today marks the SEC’s deadline for institutional investors managing over $100 million in assets to report their quarterly holdings, with market observers closely analyzing filings for further bitcoin ETF adoption trends.