One of the largest pension funds in South Korea, the Korea Teacher’s Credit Union (KTCU), is planning to invest in Bitcoin via exchange-traded funds (ETFs) next year.
The public pension fund manages $40 billion in assets and was set up to provide retirement benefits for South Korean teachers.
As already mentioned, the KTC will not directly purchase Bitcoin. Instead, it will gain exposure through products such as Bitcoin ETFs. According to a report from the Korea Economic Daily, the fund will start investing in Bitcoin in 2022 when the first Korea-based firm debuts its Bitcoin ETF in the first half of next year.
This marks the first time a South Korean domestic pension fund will be publicly allocating capital into cryptocurrency-related products. The decision is based on the judgment that cryptocurrencies are finally becoming a mainstream investment option. The KTCU opines that as more Bitcoin-related ETFs are beginning to spring up, there is a shift in the perception of Bitcoin towards being a transparent and supervisable investment.
The announcement comes at the heels of the launch of the first Bitcoin ETF on US soil, with two products tied to Bitcoin futures now live on the market.