Michigan Retirement System Invests $6.6 Million in Bitcoin ETF

The Michigan Retirement System has disclosed that 21Shares invested $6.6 million in ARKB, a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund.

Michigan State Pension Fund discloses ETF investments on Form 13-F filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. According to Archive, the pension fund holds 110,000 ARKB shares with an equivalent value of $6.6 million, accounting for approximately 0.004% of the $143 billion pension fund held by the state.

U.S. State Pension Funds Embrace Bitcoin ETFs

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved spot Bitcoin ETF trading in January 2024, leading to increased institutional interest in cryptocurrency. Since then, the spot BTC ETF has accumulated total net assets exceeding $59.4 billion, equivalent to 4.59% of the total Bitcoin supply. SosoValue data indicates that the total net inflow of the U.S. spot Bitcoin ETF market surpassed $17.54 billion.

Michigan State Retirement Funds are actively embracing ETFs, following the footsteps of other states. In May, the Wisconsin Investment Commission disclosed over $99 million in Bitcoin ETF investments through BlackRock’s IBIT ETF. Jersey Mayor Steven Fulop also announced plans to include a Bitcoin ETF in the city’s retirement fund.

Bitcoin Price Surge Ahead of Bitcoin 2024 Conference

As Bitcoin garners more attention at the Bitcoin 2024 conference in Nashville, Tennessee, Donald Trump’s scheduled appearance on June 27 is anticipated to shed light on his stance towards cryptocurrencies. The price of Bitcoin surged by over 5% to nearly $68,000 in the past 24 hours, with expectations of a fresh rally over the weekend. If the bullish momentum continues, BTC price may retest the $70,000 mark and aim for the all-time high from March.

CryptoQuant CEO Ki Young Ju suggested that Bitcoin’s bull market phase could extend until mid-2025, citing historical whale activity during bull markets.