Bitcoin

Wisconsin Pension Fund Now Includes Bitcoin

Published

8 months ago

18 May, 2024

The Wisconsin pension fund added bitcoin to its balance sheets, purchasing more than $160 million worth of shares from two newly approved funds earlier this year.

US Securities and Exchange filings from the Wisconsin State Investment Board show that between Jan. 1 and March 31, it purchased just over $99 million worth of shares in a bitcoin exchange-traded fund, or ETF, from investment giant Blackrock. The Investment Board, known as SWIB, also purchased about $64 million worth of another bitcoin ETF from Grayscale.

A SWIB spokesperson told WPR it does not comment on specific assets or acquisitions.

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Marquette University associate professor emeritus of finance David Krause said there is a distinction between buying bitcoin itself and buying shares of a bitcoin ETF. People can buy bitcoins directly and store them in a digital wallet, but Krause said to think of bitcoin ETFs more like a mutual fund. He said the ETF’s shares are tied to the price of bitcoin, but investors do not actually own the cryptocurrency.

Bitcoin ETFs, like those purchased by SWIB, were approved by the SEC on January 10.

“They are traded on exchanges,” Krause said. “So, they have liquidity just like shares. They are also regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission. This gives investors some confidence that they are not dealing with directly purchasing an asset.”

While $160 million is a lot of money, Krause said it’s a small fraction of Wisconsin’s overall pension fund. At the end of December, SWIB held more than US$155 billion in assetswith the vast majority representing Wisconsin Retirement System assets.

“Like any good portfolio manager, you want to diversify,” Krause said. “And now that bitcoin has been around for over a decade, we are aware that it not only offers quite strong returns – sometimes over periods of time quite phenomenal returns – but it also has diversification capabilities. It doesn’t move directly, in conjunction with stocks and bonds.”

However, bitcoin is notoriously volatile. In 2021, the price of one bitcoin peaked at nearly $66,000 before falling to around $16,000 in 2022. This year, it reached a new high of around $71,000.

Krause said it is a “big deal” for SWIB to get involved with bitcoin funds because it is considered one of the most highly regarded pension funds in the country.

“I can guarantee that most institutional money managers have realized this,” Krause said. “Pension Magazine highlighted this just a few days ago that Wisconsin did it. Therefore, I am quite confident that almost everyone who runs large pension funds or institutional funds is aware that SWIB has taken this action.”

Mark Fedenia, associate professor of finance at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Business, said the move provides “institutional validation for investments in Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies.”

“SWIB’s investment could increase confidence among other pension funds regarding the legitimacy and potential of Bitcoin ETFs,” said Fedenia. “Seeing a well-regarded institution like SWIB take the plunge could alleviate concerns about volatility, regulatory risks and the overall investment thesis for Bitcoin.”

Bitcoin, which was created in 2009, is “mined” using high-powered computers to verify online transactions using cryptocurrency. Bitcoin mines consume substantial amounts of electricity. In addition to its volatility, critics have pointed to its energy consumption, wasteful electronics and its use by criminal hackers as a form of payment following ransomware attacks.

In Wisconsin, some local communities have turned to bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies as a way to reinvigorate their local economies. In 2022, the owners of a rural hydroelectric plant in Jackson County partnered with New York-based Digital Power Optimization to start a cryptocurrency mine at Lake Arbutus.

Editor’s note: WPR employees are participants in the Wisconsin Retirement System.

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Bitcoin

What to watch for in the markets

Published

6 months ago

21 July, 2024

SatoshiTimes Staff

Photo: Andrew Harnik (Getty Images)

After witnessing one of the largest global IT outages on record, affecting the travel, finance and healthcare sectors worldwideThis week is set to see more political drama, events, and earnings reports from tech giants.

Donald Trump’s ‘Lovefest’ Sets Jamie Dimon Up for Consideration for Treasury Secretary Job

Let’s take a look at what awaits us:

Major companies will release their earnings reports

Major tech companies and others will release their earnings reports this week, paving the way for what the second half of 2024 will look like.

Monday

Verizon will report earnings before the start of operations.

Tuesday

Coca-Cola, Comcast and UPS are all set to report earnings before the market opens.
Tesla will report earnings in the morning, while General Motors will report earnings in the evening.
Alphabet and Visa will report results after the market closes.

Wednesday

AT&T will release its report before the market opens.
Ford and Chipotle will report earnings after the market closes.

Thursday

Earnings reports from AstraZeneca, American Airlines and Southwest Airlines will be released before the market opens.

Trump to speak at Bitcoin conference

Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump will speak at the next Bitcoin Conference in Nashville, Tennesseewhich is scheduled for July 25-27. While this is the first time a presidential candidate will attend the conference, it has sparked a debate over whether the crypto-friendly Trump will receive support from the crypto community in the upcoming election.

In addition to Trump, independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will also discuss crypto during the conference. Crypto advocates such as ARK Investment’s Cathie Wood, MicroStrategy’s Michael Saylor, and whistleblower Edward Snowden are among some prominent names who will be participating in the conference.

Ether ETFs are on the way

New Ether Spot ETFs are set to begin trading on Tuesday, July 23. Much like the spot Bitcoin ETFs, these ETFs will allow investors to buy the second most popular cryptocurrency like stocks. BlackRock, Ark Invest/21Shares, VanEck, Grayscale, Fidelity, Bitwise, Franklin Templeton, and Invesco/Galaxy Digital are all set to offer Ether ETFs. Crypto asset manager Bitwise predict that trading in the Ether ETF will drive the price of Ether higher, potentially surpassing $5,000.

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Bitcoin

Cryptocurrency’s Biggest Winners and Losers in a Second Trump Presidency

Published

6 months ago

21 July, 2024

SatoshiTimes Staff

Cryptocurrency’s Biggest Winners and Losers in a Second Trump Presidency

Bitcoin miners and cryptocurrency companies that have been blocked from going public in the U.S. could ultimately be the biggest winners in the digital asset world under a second Donald Trump presidency. Foreign companies at risk of losing market share could end up being the biggest losers.

That’s the view that’s taking hold among market participants and observers in the wake of the former president’s growing embrace of cryptocurrency as his chances of election grow. survey released Thursday by CBS News showed Trump with the majority — 52 percent — of likely voters in his likely November rematch with President Joe Biden.

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Bitcoin

Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana and Cryptocurrency Markets Look Ready to ‘Send’ as Stars Align, According to Investor Chris Burniske

Published

6 months ago

21 July, 2024

SatoshiTimes Staff

Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana and Cryptocurrency Markets Look Ready to ‘Send’ as Stars Align, According to Investor Chris Burniske

Cryptocurrency investor Chris Burniske says Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Solana (SUN) and the cryptocurrency market in general seem poised for a run.

Former Head of Cryptocurrency at ARK Invest account his 292,200 followers on social media platform X that several catalysts are aligning, suggesting that digital asset markets are on the verge of a bull run.

According to Burniske, a partner at venture capital firm Placeholder, the highly anticipated launch of Ethereum-based exchange-traded funds (ETFs), Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaking at an upcoming Bitcoin event, and the current state of the BTC, ETH, and SOL charts all suggest significant optimism for the cryptocurrency markets.

“With ETH ETFs set to go live, Trump speaking at The Bitcoin Conference, and BTC, ETH, and SOL charts looking [they do] (while stocks are weak), it’s hard to imagine a world where we don’t ship next week.”

Reuters recently reported that preliminary approval for ETH ETFs has been granted as the Bitcoin Conference is scheduled to take place from July 25-27.

BTC, ETH, and SOL are trading at $67,333, $3,528, and $174 at the time of writing, respectively.

The venture capitalist too provides an update on his prediction that the total crypto market cap will eventually hit $10 trillion. According to his chart, the path to $10 trillion is currently “23%” complete, as it sits around $2.2 trillion.

Source: Chris BurniskeX

Earlier this month, Burniske he said in an interview with Real Vision CEO Raoul Paul that he has his eye on the Move ecosystem, which was originally built by social media giant Meta and then used to develop layer 1 blockchains Sui (IUE) and Apts (APT).

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Bitcoin

Here’s the next target for BTC before bulls can hold out for $70K

Published

6 months ago

21 July, 2024

SatoshiTimes Staff

Here’s the next target for BTC before bulls can hold out for $70K

Bitcoin’s recovery is going well, and the market is seemingly poised to create a new all-time high in the near term.

Technical analysis

Per NegotiationRage

The daily chart

As the daily chart shows, the price of Bitcoin has been rising since it broke above the 200-day moving average.

The market has also reclaimed the $60K and $65K levels and is moving towards the $68K resistance zone, which could be the last hurdle before creating a new all-time high. With the RSI also indicating that the price has clear bullish momentum, it could be just a matter of time.

Source: TradingView

The 4-hour chart

Looking at the 4-hour chart, it is evident that the price has been rising rapidly since breaking the downtrend line to the upside. The market also broke the $65K resistance level with momentum, turning it into a support.

While almost everything points to a new record high in the coming weeks, there is one worrying sign. The RSI is showing a clear bearish divergence between recent price highs, which could indicate a correction or even a reversal in the near term.

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