South Korean pension fund buys $34 million in MicroStrategy stock

South Korea’s National Pension Service (NPS) has acquired $34 million worth of shares in MicroStrategy, the business intelligence firm that has amassed billions in Bitcoin.

JUST IN: 🇰🇷 South Korean pension fund reports buying $34 million in MicroStrategy stock. pic.twitter.com/Sg5cRAkjzZ

— Bitcoin Magazine (@BitcoinMagazine) August 16, 2024

According to a recent filing with the SEC, NPS bought 24,500 shares of MicroStrategy in the second quarter at an average price of $1,377. That translates to about 245,000 shares after MicroStrategy’s 10-for-1 stock split this month.

As South Korea’s public pension fund, NPS is the country’s largest institutional investor with over $777 billion in assets. MicroStrategy’s $34 million investment can be seen as an indirect bet on Bitcoin.

MicroStrategy holds the most Bitcoin of any publicly traded company, with over 226,500 BTC worth approximately $13.2 billion. The firm took on debt to accumulate most of its Bitcoin, making the stock a leveraged play on Bitcoin.

NPS joins a growing list of pension funds and sovereign wealth funds gaining exposure to Bitcoin through MicroStrategy. Norway’s central bank and the Swiss National Bank also disclosed holdings of MicroStrategy earlier.

MicroStrategy’s share price has nearly doubled this year as more institutional players bet on the company’s Bitcoin strategy. Defiance ETFs even launched a leveraged ETF targeting 175% of MicroStrategy’s daily moves.

Global adoption of MicroStrategy shares by major pension funds validates Bitcoin’s emergence as the best treasury for public companies.