Japan’s $1.5 trillion government fund seeks info on illiquid assets including bitcoin for portfolio diversification

Japan’s Government Pension Investment Fund (GPIF) is seeking information regarding the option to potentially include bitcoin (among other illiquid assets) in its investment portfolio.

The fund announced on Tuesday that it officially requests the public to submit information on low-liquidity assets such as bitcoin, gold, and farmland. This is part of its five-year research to innovate its investment strategies in response to economic and social changes and the rapid development of technology, the statement said.

However, it is difficult to view the latest announcement as indicative of the pension fund’s inclination towards Bitcoin, as it is in the stages of collecting data prior to a proper discussion.

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As of Q3 2023, GPIF managed about 224.7 trillion yen (US$1.5 trillion). It is the world’s largest known pension fund, according to Bloomberg.

This comes as the price of bitcoin fell 5.43% in the past 24 hours to $64,005, retracing a portion of its record-breaking gains made last week. However it remains up more than 50% year-to-date.