Norway’s Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM), the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund, has broken its record for indirect Bitcoin exposure with 2,446 BTC. This marks an increase of 938 BTC since December 31, 2023. The increase is not a result of buying more bitcoin but an algo-based sector weighting and risk dispersion. Nevertheless, it illustrates how Bitcoin is becoming a part of diversified global investment portfolios and taking onto mainstream finance.
NBIM indirectly owns Bitcoins through its investments in crypto companies. It has raised its share in Microstrategy, the company led by Michael Saylor. Further, NBIM purchased an additional 37,181 BTC throughout the first six months of 2024. As MicroStrategy expanded its Bitcoin exposure, NBIM’s indirect Bitcoin stake also ballooned.
Besides MicroStrategy, NBIM has grown its stake in other big names in the crypto world. Its shares in Marathon Digital, a leading Bitcoin mining firm, jumped from 0% to 0.82%. Marathon Digital’s more prominent role in Bitcoin mining has given NBIM more indirect exposure to the cryptocurrency. In the same way, NBIM’s part in Coinbase went up from 0.49% to 0.83%, and its stake in Block Inc., another company with big Bitcoin interests, climbed from 1.09% to 1.28%.
The Norwegian sovereign wealth fund (NBIM) indirectly owns 2,446 BTC, an increase of 938 BTC from December 31, 2023.
The growth likely originates from pre-determined algo-based sector weighting and risk diversification. It’s unlikely to stem from an intentional choice to amass… pic.twitter.com/8HBIbemgNU
— Vetle Lunde (@VetleLunde) August 14, 2024
It represents a significant growing trend in the financial world where Bitcoin is no longer perceived strictly as an investment vehicle with speculative capability but now, by objective measure, accounts for global investing practices. The role of corporate structures for BTC treasury alongside industry moguls like Michael Saylor, Jack Dorsey, and Peter Thiel implementing it has been essential in closing the gap between fiat and digital currency. The ‘Bitcoin adoption’ strategies have shown that holding Bitcoin as part of a corporate treasury is feasible, encouraging the flow of similar institutions and funds to show interest.
Institutional players such as NBIM entering the Bitcoin space, either directly or indirectly through an investment type vehicle, encourage further recognition and solidify not only Bitcoin’s but the entire crypto ecosystem’s place in the global financial asset class. If this trend continues, more sovereign wealth funds and larger institutions may explore bitcoin. Doing so would drive another wave of adoption for the tech as well as price appreciation in the longer term for the crypto industry.
