Florida chief financial officer Jimmy Patronis wants the agency that manages the state’s retirement funds to consider investing in Bitcoin — joining a growing number of American states adding crypto to their portfolios.
“Bitcoin is often called ‘digital gold,’ and it could help diversify the state’s portfolio and provide a secure hedge against the volatility of other major asset classes,” wrote Patronis in a letter to Florida State Board of Administration executive director Chris Spencer on Oct. 29.
Patronis’ letter urges the SBA to “provide a report on the feasibility, risk and potential benefits of directing a portion of state retirement system monies into digital asset classes” and to do so before the next legislation session, scheduled for March 4, 2025.
Florida’s SBA manages over 30 funds, including the Florida Retirement System Trust Fund — which has around $205 billion in assets under management as of Sept. 30.
In his letter, Patronis suggested that the SBA could create a “Digital Currency Investment Pilot Program” as part of the Florida Growth Fund.
This fund is allowed to use up to 1.5% of the Florida Retirement System Trust Fund and invested around $998 million into high-growth investments between 2022 and 2023, according to a report from January this year.
“When managing state pensions for firefighters, teachers, and police officers, it’s also essential to prioritize the bottom line and ensure the best return on investment for Floridians. This is where the potential of investing in a cryptocurrency, like Bitcoin, becomes particularly compelling,” added Patronis.
The executive also noted that the move would fall in line with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’s recent effort to block central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), noting crypto is the “antithesis” of central currency.
If Florida decides to invest in cryptocurrencies, it would join states like Wisconsin and Michigan, which have added crypto assets to their respective state retirement funds.
In May, The State of Wisconsin Investment Board (SWIB) reported it had invested $164 million in spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) offered by Grayscale and BlackRock, with the crypto play amounting to around 0.1% of its total assets under management.
Months later, in July, the State of Michigan Retirement System also disclosed investments in Bitcoin, with 110,000 shares in ARK 21Shares’ ETF, at 0.003% of its assets under management.
