Pension funds around the world have become interested in cryptocurrencies amid the rapid growth of BTC

Pension funds are cautiously investing in Bitcoin. This shows that even traditionally conservative financial sectors cannot ignore the potentially high returns from cryptocurrencies.

This was reported by the Financial Times.

Among the largest owners of US stock markets focused on cryptocurrencies are pension plans from the states of Wisconsin and Michigan. Additionally, some pension funds in the UK and Australia have recently made small investments in Bitcoin through funds or derivatives.

Experts believe that Bitcoin’s rise last year, which more than doubled in price to $100,000, has caught the attention of even conservative money managers.

This year, cryptocurrency analysts are predicting a further doubling of its price amid the advent of the pro-cryptocurrency Trump administration. The president-elect has promised to make the US the «world’s bitcoin superpower» and to end regulatory pressure on the sector.

«After Election Day, we received a barrage of inquiries — “Fund managers don't want to be left out if there's a hot asset on the market that they don't know anything about,” said Matt Scott, a consultant at Mercer, which advises pension funds in the UK.

Most pension funds use regulated exchange-traded funds (ETFs), approved last year, that invest in cryptocurrencies on behalf of investors and track the price of tokens such as Bitcoin and Etherium.

At the end of September, the Wisconsin Investment Board was the 12th-largest shareholder in BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF, a stake now worth about $155 million after the fund jumped 50% this quarter.

The state of Michigan is the sixth-largest shareholder in Grayscale’s Etherium ETF, with a stake valued at $12.9 million as of November. Michigan is also the 11th-largest holder of the ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF, run by investor Katie Wood, which has risen 14% since the election.

The return of pension funds to cryptocurrencies comes after significant losses during the market crisis two years ago, analysts added.

In the UK, consultancy firm Cartwright reported its first Bitcoin transaction, when a small pension company valued at £50m invested about £1.5m directly in Bitcoin rather than through an ETF, hoping for high returns to cover funding shortfalls.

Sam Roberts, director of investment consultancy at Cartwright, said that while the pension industry is moving slowly, this year could be a «very interesting» in the context of funds' decisions to invest in cryptocurrencies.

More than 50 individual investors have approached the company with a request to transfer their pensions entirely to cryptocurrency, he noted.