Norway’s $1.7 trillion sovereign wealth fund has made a bold start to the year, growing by double digits, shedding its exposure to tech giants, and diving deeper into the crypto space.
Norges Bank Investment Management fund, which reinvests income from the country’s oil reserves, appears to have significantly upped 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 shifting crypto exposure in the first half of 2024.
By increasing its holdings in crypto exchanges like Coinbase, MarathonStrategy, Block Inc., and Marathon Digital, the investment bank has grown its indirect stake in Bitcoin by 62% in the first half of the year.
Lunde said the increased holdings likely reflected “algo[rithm]-based sector weighting and risk management.”
In total, Norway’s investment bank now owns 2,446 BTC, worth around $142.9 million. On a per capita basis, Lunde says this is the equivalent of $27 for each of Norway’s 5.5 million residents.
“It’s unlikely to stem from an intentional choice to amass exposure—if increased BTC exposure was the target, we’d see more evidence of direct exposure initiatives (and significantly larger exposure),” Lunde posted.
“Regardless, it perfectly illustrates how bitcoin is maturing as an asset and getting woven into any well-diversified portfolio.”
Bitcoin’s value has surged more than 30% this year, buoyed by surging tech stocks and new regulations allowing crypto to be added to exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
Norway’s sovereign fund was set up in the 1990s to reinvest the country’s vast oil wealth across the world on behalf of its residents, encompassing several asset classes and geographies with a view to a long-term return.
The fund grew by 8.6% in the first half of 2024, with equity investments enjoying a 12% increase.
The group underperformed its benchmark FTSE Global All Cap Index by 0.04% in the first half of the year.
“The equity investments gave a very strong return in the first half of the year. The result was mainly driven by the 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 has reduced its exposure to Meta, Novo Nordisk and ASML in the first half of the year.