CalPERS Holds $165M in MicroStrategy, But Treads Carefully With BTC

CalPERS Takes Cautious Approach to Bitcoin Investment

The California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS) witnesses a paradoxical situation as the board candidates divide over Bitcoin investment despite the pension fund's $65 million stake in MicroStrategy. In a recent forum, the six candidates vying for CalPERS board seats expressed divergent opinions on the potential inclusion of BTC in the fund's $506 billion portfolio.

California’s Pension Fund Board Divides Over BTC Investment

According to recent reports, California’s pension fund, CalPERS, is exercising caution regarding cryptocurrency investments, as board candidates hold varying views on adding the pioneer crypto to the fund's $506 billion portfolio. Though the retirement system has indirect exposure to BTC via Michael Saylor’s MicroStrategy, new candidates express concerns over the direct involvement with the crypto.

According to the fund’s Q2 13F filing, it boasts a massive 410,596 Strategy shares valued at around $165.9 million. Strategy, previously known as MicroStrategy, is the largest public holder of BTC, with a portfolio of 636,505 BTC valued at over $70 billion.

Notably, incumbent David Miller sparked controversy in the forum's opening statements by targeting challenger Dominick Bei.  Referring to Bei's BTC education nonprofit, Proof of Workforce, Miller argued that virtual currencies should not be included in the board’s reserve. He said, “Cryptocurrency should not have a seat on our board and never should.”

Bei countered, pointing out that CalPERS already “owns shares in the largest BTC-holding company in the world.” He further questioned the logic of opposing direct investment while maintaining indirect exposure.

In response, Miller posited that the two investment approaches are entirely different and separate. He stated, “Investing in a business that's working with Bitcoin transactions is a very different game than direct investment in buying Bitcoin."

Emphasizing CalPERS' cautious approach to cryptocurrency, Komodo Platform CTO Kadan Stadelmann noted the team is "basically too scared to invest directly into Bitcoin.” However, he expressed his optimism about the use of digital assets in retirement systems. He noted that the market has “clearly chosen Bitcoin as a store of value," adding, “Bitcoin is certainly not too volatile for pensions.”

Pension Funds See Increased Crypto Investments

Since 2019, retirement systems across the world have seen growing crypto investments. Countries like the US, Australia, South Korea, Japan, and Norway have already explored the opportunities of cryptocurrencies in these retirement schemes.

Australia is one of the first countries to embrace crypto pension schemes. Australian self-managed superannuation funds (SMSFs) held approximately $3.02 billion in cryptocurrencies as of June, but recent data indicates they missed out on the majority of this year's digital asset surge.