Wisconsin State Investment Board Sells Off Bitcoin ETF Shares
The Wisconsin State Investment Board (SWIB), which manages the retirement fund for the state, has divested its holdings in BlackRock’s Ishares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT) during the first quarter.
According to a report from the Wisconsin Investment Commission, there was no remaining position in the Bitcoin ETF, as reflected in their 13F filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on May 15th. They successfully liquidated all 6,060,351 shares of IBIT that had been reported in the previous quarter.
Currently, those over 6 million IBIT shares are valued at about $355.6 million.
SWIB had previously made headlines by becoming one of the pioneering state investment funds to offer Bitcoin exposure, purchasing $164 million worth of the Bitcoin ETF in the first quarter of 2024.
This major sell-off comes shortly after SWIB reported adding more IBIT shares in the fourth quarter, while also reallocating all of the 1 million shares held in IBIT to Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC).
As of the end of 2024, SWIB reported managing assets exceeding $166 billion. In perspective, Bitcoin ETFs represented roughly 0.2% of its overall portfolio.
On another note, Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund, Mubadara, recently disclosed an increase in its IBIT holdings during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing. This brought Mubadara’s total to 8,726,972 IBIT shares as of March 31, valued at around $512 million with current pricing.
In terms of performance, IBIT’s net inflow topped $45 billion as of May 14, with a net inflow of $232.9 million recorded. However, its impressive streak of 20 consecutive days of net inflows came to a halt on May 13, when it reported a day with “0” inflow. Notably, BlackRock’s Bitcoin products have not experienced outflows for more than five weeks, dating back to April 9.
Among Bitcoin ETFs, the Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC) and ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF (ARK) have led the way in net inflows, amassing $11.6 billion and $2.7 billion, respectively.
