Major financial services company Fidelity said pension funds have begun exploring investments in Bitcoin, especially following the approval of a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund earlier this year.
BREAKING NEWS: Wall Street giant Fidelity says pension funds have begun exploring. #Bitcoin And cryptocurrency
Gradually and then suddenly 🚀 pic.twitter.com/8vBz4Bf02t
— Bitcoin Magazine (@BitcoinMagazine) May 3, 2024
Fidelity has been bullish on Bitcoin for several years, launching its Digital Assets branch in 2018 and launching a successful Bitcoin ETF earlier this year. The company’s ETFs have attracted significant capital compared to their competitors.
Now, Manuel Nordeste, Fidelity’s vice president of digital assets, says the company is working with major pension funds and other institutional investors on Bitcoin allocation.
At a recent event, Nordeste said: “Now we’re starting to have conversations with larger, real-money institutional investor types, and we’re getting some of those customers, corporates, etc.”
His comments come after BlackRock said yesterday that it had held educational conversations with pension funds regarding Bitcoin ETFs. Recent 13F filings reveal that a major pension consultant has already purchased spot Bitcoin ETFs.
This growing evidence suggests that serious efforts are being made to allow pension investments in Bitcoin vehicles such as ETFs.
With over $4 trillion in capital, U.S. pension funds can generate significant inflows for even the smallest portfolio allocations.
While pensions remain cautious compared to family offices and hedge funds that have already purchased Bitcoin exposure, their conservative mandates and focus on risk management have so far left most pensions on the sidelines.
If pensions follow the lead of early adopters, there will be a sea change in mainstream acceptance.
So far, the Bitcoin ETF has seen tremendous demand since its launch this year. Although there were record outflows this week, the long-term trajectory still appears very favorable.