Wisconsin Becomes First U.S. State to Invest in Bitcoin Spot ETF, Allocating Nearly $100 Million
Wisconsin has become the first U.S. state government to purchase shares in a Bitcoin spot ETF, specifically the BlackRock iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), acquiring 94,562 shares valued at nearly $100 million. This purchase coincides with a 1% increase in Bitcoin’s price, currently trading at $61,957, despite a recent 1.7% decrease over the last 24 hours following higher-than-expected U.S. inflation data.
The State of Wisconsin reported its investment in its quarterly 13F filing to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Tuesday. In addition to IBIT, the state’s investment board, known as SWIB (State of Wisconsin Investment Board), also purchased shares worth approximately $64 million in the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC).
Eric Balchunas, a senior ETF analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, commented on X (formerly Twitter), “Typically, you’d see these big institutions in the 13Fs about a year after an ETF gains more liquidity. However, as we’re seeing, these aren’t ordinary issuances. This is a good sign, and we expect more, as institutions tend to move in herds.”
Founded in 1951, SWIB currently manages over $156 billion in assets, including those of the Wisconsin Retirement System (WRS), the State Investment Fund (SIF), and other state trust funds. This disclosure was part of the March 15 deadline for institutional investment managers with at least $100 million in managed assets to report their quarterly holdings, offering insights into institutional involvement in Bitcoin ETFs since their launch earlier this year.
