State of Michigan pension fund discloses $10m Ethereum ETF holdings

• State of Michigan pension fund holds over $11 million in spot Ethereum exchange-traded funds.
• The 13F filing the State of Michigan Retirement System about $10 million in Grayscale ETF ETHE and $1.1 million in Grayscal Ethereum Mini Trust ETF (ETH).

The State of Michigan pension fund has disclosed in a 13F filing that it acquired and holds over $10 million in spot Ethereum exchange-traded funds.

In the latest 13F filing, details show that the State of Michigan Retirement System disclosed its holdings of the Grayscale Ethereum Trust (ETHE) and Ethereum Mini Trust ETF (ETH).

Per the filing, the Michigan state pension holds 460,000 shares of ETHE worth about $10 million and 460,000 shares ETH (the mini trust ETF) worth roughly $1.1 million.

VanEck head of digital assets Matthew Sigel shared the details below on X.

🚨 First State Pension Fund Buys #ETH ETF 🚨

State of Michigan Files 13F Discloses New ETH ETF Holdings; Becomes Top 5 Holder of $ETH & $ETHE pic.twitter.com/3eYrCh3ldG

— matthew sigel, recovering CFA (@matthew_sigel) November 4, 2024

State pension funds buying spot crypto ETFs

With these spot Ethereum ETF holdings, the State of Michigan pension fund has become the first such entity to disclose an ETH ETF holding.

Notably, the State of Michigan Retirement System already disclosed its spot Bitcoin ETF holdings, revealing a $7 million position. Going by the latest 13F filing, the pension fund’s ether ETFs position is bigger than its spot BTC ETF one.

Commenting on this, Bloomberg senior ETF analyst Eric Balchunas said it is a “big win” for Ethereum. In particular, it’s because BTC price has seen massive price gains compared to ETH which has struggled a lot over the last several months.

Balchunas wrote in a post on X:

“Not only did Michigan’s pension buy Ether ETFs but they bought more then they did of bitcoin ETFs, $10m vs $7m, this despite btc being up a ton and ether in the gutter. Pretty big win for ether which could use one.”

Several US states have disclosed spot ETF holdings since SEC approved BTC ETFs in January this year. These include the State of Wisconsin Investment Board and Florida, whose chief financial officer revealed in an interview last week that the state’s crypto holdings are around $800 million.