Norway's $1.7 trillion oil fund is betting big on crypto companies

Norway's oil fund is the Government Pension Fund Global (GPFG), established to invest the surplus wealth from Norway's petroleum sector to ensure that both current and future generations of Norwegians benefit from the country's oil and gas revenues. The fund generally invests internationally in a diversified portfolio of equities, fixed-income assets, and real estate.

Given that sovereign wealth and state pension funds legally mandate managers to invest only in pre-defined asset classes such as fixed-income securities, corporate bonds and equities, the oil fund has to invest in traditional vehicles like an exchange-traded fund (ETF), a corporate bond or a company proxy like Strategy.

Earlier this week, it was reported that the oil fund had increased its indirect crypto exposure as much as 192%.

Norway’s sovereign wealth fund, the largest state-directed wealth fund in the world, increased its indirect Bitcoin exposure by 192% over the last year, according to crypto research company K33 Research.

The fund has indirect exposure to 7,161 BTC through its investment portfolio, which includes treasury companies Strategy and Metaplanet and crypto exchange Coinbase.

The fund currently holds over 11.9 billion Norwegian krone ($1.2 billion) of Strategy’s stock, a 133% increase from 2024. Similarly, the fund has increased its Coinbase holdings by over 96% since 2024.

Norway’s increase in BTC holdings reflects a broader trend of sovereign wealth funds gaining indirect exposure through BTC investment vehicles and corporate proxies, as the world’s first cryptocurrency becomes integrated into the traditional financial system. – Cointelegraph report

Norway ranks 4th in wealth, globally, based on nominal GDP per capita and 6th by GDP per capita. The country's sovereign wealth fund, managed by Norges Bank Investment Management, is considered the largest state fund in the world by assets under management, which at the time is estimated to be over $1.7 trillion, effectively suggesting over $305k in secured and invested wealth for each citizen.

Judging by the obvious, the oil fund's big bet on crypto companies is not just bold, it's a statement of confidence in what is being built in the industry.

We can already see the urgency to leverage and invest in crypto across Wall Street players. From major firms like Charles Schwab hiring for crypto expansion to traditional finance companies like Stripe and Circle launching L1 EVM blockchains for stablecoins payments.

Also in this same week, Metamask stablecoin plans has been revealed and Citi bank moves to offer custody for crypto assets and also payment services for stablecoins.

We are witnessing a major shift in not just attention but capital, one that will completely redefine our markets and ecosystems. The crypto ecosystem will grow at a pace many are not quite expecting. What is today a $4 trillion market can easily surpass $10T over the next decade.