The State of Michigan Retirement System, which manages $19.3 billion in assets, has significantly increased its bet on Bitcoin. According to a recent SEC filing, the fund has tripled its holdings in the ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF ($ARKB), now owning 300,000 shares valued at $11.4 million. This marks a substantial jump from the 100,000 shares it held just a quarter earlier.
This move, while still a small portion of its total portfolio, is a calculated one. According to Ganesh Mahidhar of Further Ventures, pension funds are carefully evaluating assets like Bitcoin based on metrics such as the Sharpe ratio, which measures risk-adjusted returns. Mahidhar notes that these “carefully optimistic” purchases are a way for funds to get exposure to potential upside while protecting against significant drawdowns.
The Michigan fund’s bullish stance on crypto isn’t limited to Bitcoin. It also maintains a separate, steady position in Ethereum ($ETH) through 460,000 shares of the Grayscale Ethereum Trust ($ETHE), worth approximately $13.6 million.
This trend is not isolated to Michigan. The State of Wisconsin Investment Board has a much larger position, holding over 6 million shares of BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust ($IBIT), valued at $387.3 million. These institutional moves come as experts, like those at Standard Chartered, project Bitcoin could reach $200,000 by year’s end, with pension fund inflows expected to be a major catalyst for this growth. Despite recent overall outflows in Bitcoin ETFs, the conviction from major pension funds highlights a long-term belief in digital assets.
August 2025, Cryptoniteuae
