Houston Pension Buys Crypto, an Asset ‘We Could Not Ignore’

bloomberg.com

9 points·jules-jules··2 comments

> The Houston Firefighters’ Relief and Retirement Fund, which has over $4 billion of assets, said it invested $25 million in Bitcoin and Ether through NYDIG, a Bitcoin-focused subsidiary of asset manager Stone Ridge.

This is a space to watch closely. Pensions are tragicomically underfunded in the US:

https://equable.org/state-of-pensions-2020-national-pension-...

To make up for the shortfall, they're after any asset that moves. Bitcoin's well-known supply cap places it uniquely among all assets.

It's not hard to imagine a near future in which all of the world's largest pension funds own Bitcoin, directly or indirectly. Then what?

NYDIG itself appears to be a company dedicated to making an even more sweeping version of this idea reality:

> A provider of Bitcoin-related technology and investment services, NYDIG also said it would be launching “Bitcoin-powered solutions for U.S.-based life insurance and annuity providers.” This comes as the firm announced the addition of reinsurance company TransRe CEO Mike Sapnar, who will be joining NYDIG as the global head of insurance solutions.

https://cointelegraph.com/news/nydig-raises-100-million-and-...

Most pension funds would be prohibited from purchasing cryptocurrency assets under local laws or applicable financial best practices requirements (which prohibit large investments in highly volatile assets), so it is extremely hard to imagine a future where more than a tiny fraction of pension funds own crypto of any kind.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com