Norway’s Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM), the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund, saw its indirect exposure to Bitcoin (BTC) skyrocket to $356.7 million in 2024, marking a 153% year-over-year rise, according to K33 Research. By the end of 2024, the fund held 3,821 BTC, a sharp increase from 1,507 BTC at the close of 2023, and up from just 796 BTC in 2020.
The increase is attributed to the fund’s strategy of holding stakes in crypto-related public companies, such as its 0.72% stake in MicroStrategy (MSTR), worth $500 million, and its holdings in Tesla (TSLA), Coinbase (COIN), and MARA Holdings (MARA). This exposure is part of NBIM’s broader investment strategy, which includes tapping into sectors like AI, contributing to its record annual profit of $222.4 billion in 2024.
K33 analyst Vetle Lunde suggests that NBIM’s Bitcoin exposure is mainly driven by the increasing weight of crypto proxies in its portfolio. As these assets appreciate, their value grows relative to the fund’s broader holdings, leading to increased exposure to Bitcoin without direct purchases.
