Norway's Government Pension Fund Holds 2.4K BTC
By Vukan Ljubojevic | TH3FUS3 Senior Writer
August 19, 2024 07:30 AM
Reading time: 1 minute, 41 seconds
TL;DR Norway's sovereign wealth fund now has significant Bitcoin exposure, equating to $27 for every Norwegian citizen. Meanwhile, U.S. policymakers are discussing establishing a strategic Bitcoin reserve. These moves reflect growing global confidence in Bitcoin.
The northern European country of Norway has a population of nearly 5.5 million. Moreover, the government's investments in its citizens total some $1.7 trillion. A chunk of that is in Bitcoin stocks, and the government upped its holdings this year.
Norway's Bitcoin Holdings
Norway now indirectly owns 2,446 BTC through its investments in crypto stocks. That's bullish news for Bitcoin. It paints an enticing picture of global sovereign support for the BTC price.
A recent report in Fortune Magazine details how the Norges Bank Investment Management fund has markedly increased its Bitcoin exposure after rebalancing its portfolio this year. The fund invests the nation's significant oil revenues in profitable enterprises for Norway's government.
Norway's public fund slashed the nation's holdings of Meta stock and other big tech giants (from which it made billions this year). After that, it moved the money into Web3 stocks like MicroStrategy, Coinbase, Block, and Marathon Digital.
Strategic Moves
Nicolai Tangen, CEO of Norges Bank Investment Management, said:
"The equity investments gave a solid return in the year's first half. The technology stocks mainly drove the result due to increased demand for new solutions in artificial intelligence."
Along with extensive tech stocks, Bitcoin delivered enormous returns to investors this year, coinciding with the quadrennial Bitcoin supply halving and the launch of several ETF products in the United States following approval from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
According to Fortune, the big moves increased Norway's Bitcoin exposure by 62% in the first half of 2024. Vetle Lunde, senior analyst at Norwegian digital assets strategy firm K33 Research, recently broke down the math on Norway's cryptocurrency investments in a post on X:
U.S. Bitcoin Reserve Talk
Meanwhile, in the U.S., Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) recently proposed establishing a strategic Bitcoin reserve, a policy that received backing from former President Donald Trump, the Republican presidential candidate.
In El Salvador, where Bitcoin is legal tender, President Nayib Bukele has bought up on-chain Bitcoin since 2021. When Bitcoin price surged this year, Its strategy returned taxpayers a 55% profit.
