California's $500 billion pension fund divided over Bitcoin

At the debate on September 4, candidates for the board of the California Public Employees' Retirement System #California (CalPERS, $506 billion) had opposing views on investing in Bitcoin.

Currently, CalPERS holds 410,596 shares of Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy) worth $165.9 million, meaning the fund has significant indirect exposure to Bitcoin. MicroStrategy currently holds over 636,505 $BTC (worth over $70 billion), considered a popular channel for institutions to access crypto.

While candidate David Miller strongly opposed, arguing that "crypto has no place in the pension fund," opponent Dominick Bei countered that CalPERS is being contradictory by opposing directly but investing indirectly through MicroStrategy.

Other candidates had diverse views:

Steve Mermell: firmly stated "Never!", likening crypto to Enron and the financial crisis.

Troy Johnson: cautious but does not rule out the possibility in the future.

Jose Luis Pacheco: rejected Bitcoin but acknowledged blockchain as a promising technology that needs research.

Meanwhile, many other state pension funds have been bolder: Michigan tripled its Bitcoin ETF amount to $11.4 million, Wisconsin holds $387 million in Bitcoin ETF, and Florida owns 240,026 shares of Strategy worth $97 million.

The November election will determine whether #CalPERS continues to maintain an indirect approach or opens the door for direct investment in Bitcoin.

⛔ Risk warning: This article is for informational purposes only and is not investment advice. #anh_ba_cong