Big news for Bitcoin adoption? The Norwegian government increases the BTC exposure of the Sovereign Fund

The northern European country of Norway has a population of almost 5.5 million. In addition, the government’s investments for its citizens total about $1.7 trillion. Some of that is in Bitcoin stocks, and the government increased its holdings this year.

Norway’s Sovereign Fund’s Bitcoin Spree

Norway now indirectly holds 2,446 BTC through its crypto stock investments. This is bullish news for Bitcoin. It paints an attractive picture of global sovereign support for the BTC price.

A recent report from Fortune magazine details how Norges Bank’s investment management fund has significantly increased its exposure to Bitcoin after rebalancing its portfolio this year. The fund invests the country’s significant oil revenues in profitable ventures for the Norwegian government.

Norway’s public fund reduced the country’s holdings in shares of Meta and other big tech giants (from which it made billions this year). After that, he moved the money into Web3 stocks like MicroStrategy, Coinbase, Block, and Marathon Digital.

Bitcoin Shares Boost Norwegian Government Investments

Nicolai Tangen, CEO of Norges Bank Investment Management, said:

“Investments in variable income gave a very strong return in the first half of the year. The result was mainly driven by technology stocks, due to increased demand for new solutions in artificial intelligence.”

Along with the big tech stocks, Bitcoin delivered huge returns to investors this year, coinciding with the four-year halving of Bitcoin’s supply and the launch of several ETF products in the United States after the Commission’s approval of US Stocks and Stock Exchange.

According to Fortune, big moves boosted Norway’s Bitcoin exposure by 62% in the first half of 2024. Vetle Lunde, senior analyst at Norwegian digital asset strategy firm K33 Research, recently broke down the math on Norway’s cryptocurrency investments in a post on X:

Norwegian sovereign wealth fund (NBIM) indirectly holds 2,446 BTC, an increase of 938 BTC since December 31, 2023.

Growth likely stems from algo-based predetermined sector weighting and risk diversification. It is unlikely to come from a deliberate choice to accumulate… pic.twitter.com/8HBIbemgNU

— Vetle Lunde (@VetleLunde) August 14, 2024

“Norway’s sovereign wealth fund (NBIM) indirectly holds 2,446 BTC, an increase of 938 BTC since December 31, 2023,” Lunde wrote. The analyst noted that such exposure to Bitcoin “perfectly illustrates how bitcoin is maturing as an asset and fits into any well-diversified portfolio!”

Governments do the math

Meanwhile, in the United States, Senator Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) recently proposed establishing a strategic Bitcoin reserve, a policy that received support from Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump.

In El Salvador, where Bitcoin is legal tender, President Nayib Bukele has been buying Bitcoin on the chain since 2021. His strategy returned taxpayers there a 55% profit when the price of Bitcoin rose this year.

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