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South Korea’s National Pension Service has added MicroStrategy, the world’s largest corporate Bitcoin holder, to its portfolio. 
The National Pension Service, the world’s third-largest pension fund with nearly $800 billion in assets under management, has acquired 24,500 <a href="https://crypto.news/tag/microstrategy/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">MicroStrategy</a> (MSTR) shares for $33.75 million, as detailed in an Aug. 13 <a href="https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1608046/000160804624000005/xslForm13F_X02/20242q.xml" target="_blank" rel="">filing</a> with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. 
With the latest investment, MicroStrategy became the second major crypto-focused entity that NPS invested in, following last year’s <a href="https://crypto.news/south-koreas-pension-fund-bought-20m-in-coinbase-shares/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">acquisition</a> of 282,673 <a href="https://crypto.news/tag/coinbase/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Coinbase</a> (COIN) shares for $19.92 million at the time. As of the second quarter of 2024, the pension fund continues to hold $51 million in COIN shares, which is up almost 150% over the past year. 
The NPS likely expects to replicate the success of its Coinbase investment with MicroStrategy, a business analytics firm which has turned its focus towards <a href="https://crypto.news/microstrategy-seeks-raising-2b-to-buy-more-bitcoin/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">accumulating</a> Bitcoin (<a href="https://crypto.news/price/bitcoin/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">BTC</a>). The Michael Saylor-founded firm started its Bitcoin journey in 2020 and has since acquired 226,500 BTC valued at $13.27 billion. MicroStrategy’s Bitcoin holdings are up 65% from the $8.35 billion it committed. 
A similar trend has been observed among other key industry players who also view MicroStrategy as a good investment. Two major central banks, namely the Norwegian and Swiss central banks, recently <a href="https://crypto.news/why-are-norwegian-and-swiss-banks-buying-microstrategy-shares/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">bought</a> MSTR, which is up 92.5% since the start of the year. 
<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="pension-funds-embrace-bitcoin">Pension funds embrace Bitcoin</h2> 
It is debatable whether these investments reflect a growing confidence in Bitcoin’s potential, but pension funds across various jurisdictions have started <a href="https://crypto.news/canadian-pension-funds-to-reveal-crypto-exposure/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">warming up to the idea</a> of including Bitcoin in their holdings. 
Japan’s Government Pension Investment Fund, currently the largest pension in the world, recently <a href="https://crypto.news/japans-largest-pension-fund-to-explore-bitcoin-investments/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">floated the idea</a> of exploring investments in the apex cryptocurrency. Meanwhile, other funds like the Houston Firefighters’ Relief and Retirement Fund have already <a href="https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/houston-firefighters-relief-and-retirement-fund-announces-bitcoin-purchase-301405769.html" target="_blank" rel="">held</a> Bitcoin in their portfolio since 2021. 
Some institutions have opted for an indirect approach with the advent of spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds, which offer a safer way for traditional funds to gain exposure to BTC. A trend that institutions like CBOE Digital <a href="https://crypto.news/bitcoin-etf-will-attract-pension-funds-and-rias-says-cboe-digital-chief/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">had been anticipating</a>. 
The State of Michigan Retirement System is the latest in this regard, <a href="https://crypto.news/michigan-adds-6-6m-in-bitcoin-etfs-to-pension-fund/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">disclosing</a> a $6.6 million in ARK 21Shares’ ARKB spot Bitcoin ETF last month, following on the heels of the State of Wisconsin Investment Board’s $99 million Bitcoin investment into BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust. 
 Read more: <a href="https://crypto.news/south-korean-ceo-arrested-in-366m-crypto-scam/"> South Korean CEO arrested in $366m crypto scam </a>

South Korea’s largest pension fund injects $33.75 million in MicroStrategy shares

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