Pension funds remain bullish amid the crypto bear market

When multiple crypto companies have lost their hopes and bowed to the ongoing crypto winter, pension funds across the North American continent remain bullish, the Wall Street Journal says.

According to a report by WSJ, asset management company VanEck displays that mindset. Pension fund managers are planning on whether to increase their crypto investments or sell out due to the weak market conditions this year.

Bullish pension funds

One such bullish pension fund for Houston firemen invested $25 million in bitcoin and ether in October 2021, but the value of its investments fell by over 50% due to the ongoing bear market. However, the management team of the $5 billion Houston fund was aware of the nature of their investment. Investment manager for the Houston Firefighters’ Relief and Retirement Fund, Ajit Singh, expressed optimistic thinking by stating that “volatility and large swings” are very common in the crypto industry.

Other pension funds see the crypto winter as an opportunity to expand their investment. During the crypto bear, when fewer individuals are willing to invest in cryptocurrency, yields are more tempting, according to the investment chief of a Virginia-based pension fund. 4.5% of the assets of this Fairfax police pension fund, worth around $6.6 billion, helping more than 30,000 people, are held in digital assets.

One of the most well-known institutional investors in South Korea and a public pension fund, Korean Teachers’ Credit Union (KTCU), attempted to invest in Bitcoin (BTC) through a cryptocurrency ETF in October of last year, as TheCoinRise reported.

Some are playing “safe”

But not all pension plans can face the massive volatility of the crypto market. California’s $300 billion teacher fund does not accept crypto payments due to the high level of risk. Moreover, Australia’s $2.4 trillion worth Pension Fund Industry also expressed its concerns about the crypto industry, finding decentralization “too risky.”