- Mayor Steven Fulop revealed plans to allocate part of Jersey City’s pension fund to Bitcoin ETFs.
- The pension fund is in the process of updating paperwork with the SEC.
Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop has announced a plan to allocate a portion of the city’s pension fund to Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs). This move revealed in a social media post on July 25, signals a significant shift in the city’s financial strategy for including cryptocurrencies.
Currently, the Jersey City pension fund is updating its documentation with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to include Bitcoin ETFs. This step placed Jersey City with the Wisconsin Pension Fund, which allocated 2% of its $156 billion in assets to Bitcoin ETFs in the second quarter of this year.
Further, Mayor Steven shows optimism about the future of such investments, anticipating that they will become more common. The inclusion of Bitcoin ETFs into Jersey City’s pension fund is expected to be finalized by the end of the summer. Also, leading analysts predict that other states may soon follow suit and expand their portfolios with Bitcoin ETFs.
The SEC’s approval of spot Bitcoin ETFs earlier this year has sparked interest in Bitcoin among public pension funds. This regulatory green light has opened the door for municipalities to consider Bitcoin as a viable investment option. Notably, BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) recently surpassed Nasdaq’s QQQ in terms of inflows for the year.
Additionally, Fairfax County, Virginia, has gained crypto exposure via VanEck’s New Finance Income Fund. Beyond the US, Japan’s $1.4 trillion Government Pension Investment Fund has also shown interest in Bitcoin investments, seeking information earlier this year.
Political Figures Back Bitcoin Adoption
The growing interest in Bitcoin in the US market grabs support from prominent political figures and regulators, including Donald Trump. Senator Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming is set to propose recognizing Bitcoin as a strategic reserve asset comparable to gold at the Bitcoin 2024 conference in Nashville.
Further, presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has also proposed that the U.S. government might buy Bitcoin to match the value of its gold reserves. Currently, the U.S. holds 8,134 tons of gold, valued at approximately $620 billion. To equal this value in Bitcoin, the US would need about 9.3 million BTC—nearly 44% of its total supply.
However, Jersey City’s decision to include Bitcoin ETFs in its pension fund highlights a significant development in the municipal adoption of cryptocurrencies.
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