Jimmy Patronis has stated that sovereign pension funds are increasingly interested in Bitcoin as a result of the introduction of spot ETFs in the United States.
In an interview with CNBC’s Squawk Box, Jimmy Patronis, Florida’s chief financial officer and one of the officials responsible for overseeing the state’s pension funds, stated that he instructed the State Board of Administration to invest in Bitcoin as a safeguard against currency inflation and a hedge against central bank digital currencies.
Jimmy Patronis asserts on cryptocurrency
The chief financial officer emphasized his fiduciary responsibility to preserve the purchasing power of state employees by maximizing returns and cautioning other asset managers not to disregard the emergent asset class. Patronis informed the presenter of CNBC:
“Crypto is not going anywhere. It’s not going to contract — it’s going to continue expanding — and I think we’d be foolish if we’re not prepared to do everything we can to harness the opportunities there.”
“You are making a mistake if you are not paying attention to it,” he continued. Patronis emphasized that decentralized cryptocurrencies safeguard consumer privacy and offer resistance to government excess.
Cryptocurrency exposure is being investigated by sovereign pension funds
Patronis underscored the necessity for the United States to invest in cryptocurrencies in order to maintain its competitive edge in global markets and to surpass foreign nations that are already contemplating diversifying their investments into Bitcoin and other digital assets.
In 2021, the South Korean Teachers’ Credit Union (KTCU), a public pension fund for school teachers, declared its intention to invest in Bitcoin through exchange-traded funds. One of the greatest institutional investors in the Asian country is represented by the fund.
The Government Pension Investment Fund of Japan, the world’s largest public pension fund, also disclosed that it was contemplating the allocation of a portion of its assets under administration to Bitcoin.
The primary drivers for the fund’s exploration of a prospective Bitcoin allocation were “rapid technological progress and major changes in the economy and society” at the time.
In August, the National Pension Service of South Korea, the world’s third-largest pension fund, acquired $34 million of MicroStrategy stock, which is widely regarded as a proxy for Bitcoin.
