As institutional investments in Bitcoin continue to make headlines, a significant development has emerged from the United Kingdom. For the first time, a UK pension fund has made a direct investment in Bitcoin, marking a notable milestone for the crypto market.
A Pioneering Move Led by Cartwright
UK pension specialist Cartwright played a key role in facilitating this unprecedented move, becoming the first to guide a pension fund in directly purchasing Bitcoin. Instead of utilizing an intermediary like a spot Bitcoin ETF, the unnamed fund allocated 3% of its total assets directly to BTC.
According to Glenn Cameron, Cartwright’s head of digital assets, the fund made its Bitcoin purchase last month, investing approximately £50 million (about $65 million). Cartwright has since encouraged other institutional investors to follow suit, emphasizing Bitcoin’s potential in diversified portfolios.
Global Trends in Pension Funds and Crypto Investments
As more local and federal governments consider crypto investments for pension funds in 2024, the UK’s interest in digital assets is growing. Legal & General, a major UK pension and investment company with over $1.5 trillion in assets under management, recently expressed interest in exploring tokenized funds as a possible investment offering.
In addition to the UK, South Korea’s pension fund recently reported an exposure of approximately $34 million to Bitcoin bull MicroStrategy. Meanwhile, in the U.S., Michigan State’s pension fund disclosed an investment of around $18 million in Bitcoin and Ethereum as of September 30.
For the latest on institutional moves in the crypto market, stay tuned to Turkish NY Radio.
