Jersey City Plans to Invest Part of Pension Fund in BTC ETF

Compiled by: Blockchain Knight

Jersey City is the second largest city in New Jersey. On July 25, Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop announced plans to invest part of the city's pension fund in a BTC ETF, an important step in incorporating Crypto assets into the municipal financial strategy.

Fulop posted on social media that the Jersey City Pension Fund is updating its filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to include the BTC ETF.

Prior to this move, the Wisconsin Pension Fund made a similar decision to allocate 2% of its $156 billion in assets to a BTC ETF in the second quarter.

Experts believe that other states will soon follow suit and diversify part of their portfolios with BTC ETFs.

Fulop added: "The discussion about whether Crypto assets or BTC will continue to be adopted is basically over, and the decision will continue to move forward."

BTC ETFs have recorded impressive performance since their launch, with BlackRock's IBIT recently surpassing Nasdaq's QQQ in terms of fund inflows this year.

Fulop, who has served as the city's mayor since 2013, emphasized that he has long been a supporter of Crypto assets and blockchain technology.

Fulop emphasized the huge potential of these innovative technologies, saying: "I have long believed in Crypto assets, but broadly speaking, in addition to Crypto assets, I do believe that blockchain is one of the most important new technological innovations since the Internet."

The SEC approved the listing and trading of spot BTC ETFs on US exchanges earlier this year, paving the way for public pension funds to consider such investments.

However, although more public entities are expected to follow in the third quarter, Jersey City and Wisconsin remain a few public entities exploring this avenue.

In addition, Fulop did not mention any plans to invest in other Crypto assets or related assets, such as the Ethereum ETF that began trading earlier this week.

While large financial institutions such as Wells Fargo and JPMorgan Chase have had limited participation in the BTC ETF, with a combined investment of less than $1 million, Fulop's decision shows that people are increasingly accepting and recognizing the potential of digital assets.

As the city's paperwork with the SEC progresses, the implementation of the BTC ETF in pension funds is expected to be completed by the end of summer. Fulop believes that this type of investment will become more common in the future.