South Korea’s National Pension Service (NPS) has invested $34 million in MicroStrategy, aligning with a growing trend among global institutions seeking indirect exposure to Bitcoin through corporate entities.
South Korea’s National Pension Service (NPS) has made a significant investment in MicroStrategy, purchasing $34 million worth of the company's shares, as reported by recent filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). This move is seen as an indirect bet on Bitcoin, given MicroStrategy’s substantial Bitcoin holdings.
NPS, the largest institutional investor in South Korea with over $777 billion in assets under management, acquired 24,500 shares of MicroStrategy during the second quarter of this year. The purchase was made at an average price of $1,377 per share, totaling roughly 245,000 shares following a 10-for-1 stock split that MicroStrategy implemented earlier this month.
MicroStrategy, led by CEO Michael Saylor, is known for its aggressive strategy of accumulating Bitcoin. The company currently holds over 226,500 BTC, valued at approximately $13.2 billion. This makes MicroStrategy the largest corporate holder of Bitcoin, and its stock is often viewed as a leveraged play on Bitcoin.
The NPS’s investment in MicroStrategy aligns with a growing trend among global institutional investors, including Norway's central bank and the Swiss National Bank, who are using MicroStrategy as a proxy to gain exposure to Bitcoin. The move reflects increasing confidence in Bitcoin’s potential as a strategic asset in diversified portfolios.
MicroStrategy’s stock has seen substantial growth, nearly doubling in value this year, which has been further bolstered by the interest of institutional investors. The company's shares have also become the focus of leveraged financial products, such as the recently launched ETF by Defiance ETFs, which targets 175% of MicroStrategy’s daily stock movements.
In addition to its MicroStrategy investment, the NPS also holds a significant stake in Coinbase, owning 229,807 shares valued at over $45 million. This further indicates the pension fund’s strategic interest in the sector.
The NPS’s investment in MicroStrategy underscores a broader trend of institutional adoption of Bitcoin, which could have lasting implications for the Bitcoin market and the future of digital assets as a mainstream investment.
This development is a significant validation of Bitcoin’s emerging role in global finance, particularly as more traditional financial institutions seek indirect exposure to the Bitcoin through established corporate entities like MicroStrategy.
