Florida’s state pension fund has taken a bold move to align with US President-elect Donald Trump’s vision of a strategic Bitcoin reserve.
Florida state officials announced the pension fund will invest $1.85 billion of member contributions into bitcoin Diversify your investment portfolio.
Bitcoin Exposure
The head of the Florida Blockchain Business Association (FBBA) announced that $1.85 billion from Florida’s pension fund is being considered for investment in Bitcoin, a move supported by state leaders.
FBBA President Samuel Armes said in a post that Florida will launch a “strategic Bitcoin reserve,” adding that the state has a strong chance of creating the BTC reserve in the first quarter of next year.
Armes believes that investment in Bitcoin would take place thanks to pro-Bitcoin leaders, such as Florida House Speaker Danny Perez and Governor Ron DeSantis, saying that Perez “understands the technology very well,” while DeSantis is among the most pro. -Bitcoin Governors in the United States.
Florida will launch a strategic Bitcoin reserve and this is how we will do it 👇
Florida has a very good chance of creating a strategic Bitcoin reserve this session, which begins in the first quarter of 2025.
Here’s what you need to know:
Florida House Speaker Danny… pic.twitter.com/JJRNU1V7ZI
— Samuel Armes (@samuelarmes) December 3, 2024
Pension fund goes crypto
Armes suggested that one way to build a bitcoin reserve in Florida is to allow the state pension fund to invest $1.85 billion in Bitcoin.
“Leverage our $185.7 billion pension fund to allocate a small percentage to Bitcoin as inflation hedge”Armes said in a post.
The FBBA director explained that it would not be the first time that Florida will invest in digital assets using the pension fund because the state has already made investments in Bitcoin and cryptocurrency-related assets through this fund.
He explained that the fourth largest pension fund in the United States can use 1% of its fund to establish a Bitcoin reserve, giving the retirement savings plan the opportunity to diversify and gain exposure to the growing cryptocurrency market.
“The pension allocates its funds to hedge funds, and some of those hedge funds have bought several stocks in the Bitcoin space (miners, MSTR, Coinbase, for example) and at the same time have bought liquid tokens,” he added.
$800 million in cryptocurrencies
Florida is not new to digital assets, already having $800 million in cryptocurrency investments.
Florida Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis urged other pension funds to try investing their money in Bitcoin, adding the first-born cryptocurrency to his state’s investment portfolio.
“Cryptocurrencies are not going anywhere. It will continue to expand and it would be foolish not to take advantage of its opportunities there,” Patronis said, noting the need to prepare for the growth of digital currencies.
However, some critics expressed concern about the state’s investment plans in Bitcoin and warned about the cryptocurrency’s volatility.
Charles Bobrinskoy of Ariel Investments argued that Bitcoin is a “momentum-driven bubble,” adding that it has an “unstable price” and has no real value.
Meanwhile, state officials defended the move, believing that Bitcoin is a “good long-term investment” and a better option to protect against traditional financial risks.
Featured image from Business Standard, chart from TradingView
