Every Norwegian now indirectly owns $27 worth of Bitcoin

The Norges Bank Investment Management fund, which reinvests revenues from the country’s oil reserves, appears to have significantly increased its indirect exposure to Bitcoin this year.

Vetle Lunde, senior analyst at K33Research, crunched the numbers on X to break down Norges Bank Investment Management’s changing cryptocurrency exposure in the first half of 2024.

By increasing its holdings in crypto exchanges such as Coinbase, MarathonStrategy, Block Inc. and Marathon Digital, the investment bank increased its indirect stake in Bitcoin by 62% in the first half of the year.

Lunde said the increased holdings likely reflected “algorithm-based sector weighting and risk management.”

In total, the Norway-based investment bank now holds 2,446 BTC, worth about $142.9 million. Per capita, Lunde says that’s the equivalent of $27 for each of Norway’s 5.5 million residents.

“It’s unlikely to come from a deliberate choice to accumulate exposure – if increased exposure to BTC was the target, we’d see more evidence of direct exposure initiatives (and significantly more exposure),” Lunde posted.

“Regardless, it perfectly illustrates how bitcoin is maturing as an asset and fits into any well-diversified portfolio.”

Bitcoin has risen more than 30% this year, buoyed by the rise of tech stocks and new regulations that allow the crypto to be added to exchange-traded funds (ETFs).

Norway’s sovereign wealth fund was established in the 1990s to reinvest the country’s vast oil wealth around the world on behalf of its residents, spanning multiple asset classes and geographies for long-term returns.

The fund rose 8.6% in the first half of 2024, with equity investments up 12%.

The group underperformed the benchmark FTSE Global All Cap by 0.04% in the first half of the year.

“Equity investments delivered a very strong return in the first half of the year. The result was mainly driven by technology stocks, due to increased demand for new solutions in artificial intelligence,” said Nicolai Tangen, CEO of Norges Bank Investment Management.

The investment fund said it reduced its exposure to Meta, Novo Nordisk and ASML in the first half of the year.