Florida May Increase Crypto Holdings From $800M If Trump Wins

Jimmy Patronis, chief financial officer (CFO) of the state of Florida, revealed that the state holds $800 million worth of digital assets, and will look to increase the state’s holdings if Donald Trump wins the upcoming election.

On Oct. 31, Patronis told CNBC he would push to expand the state’s crypto holdings under a Trump presidency.

“We have about $800 million in crypto-related investments in our state portfolio,” Patronis said. “I would not be shocked to be able to see that growing under a Trump administration in the near future… I’m going to continue to push forward to make sure that we're doing everything possible to take advantage of this.”

Patronis noted that Trump recently advocated for building a “national stockpile” of BTC reserves and creating a “Bitcoin and crypto presidential advisory council” during his appearance at the Bitcoin2024 conference in June.

Patronis described Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies as essential tools for hedging against inflation. He also raised concerns about the privacy implications of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs).

On Oct. 30, Patronis issued a letter to the State Board of Administration (SBA), which oversees Florida’s public employee retirement funds, requesting the board assess the feasibility of adding digital assets the state's pension fund.

“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,” Patronis wrote. “This is where the potential of investing in a cryptocurrency, like Bitcoin, becomes particularly compelling.”

Patronis’ comments come less than one week before the Nov. 5 presidential election. While Harris has offered little in the way of policy proposals and public remarks in support of the web3 industry, Trump has actively sought to court votes from the crypto community.

In recent months, Trump has pledged to support the U.S. Bitcoin mining industry, protect the right to self-custody digital assets, and support web3 innovation. His position marks a significant departure from labeling Bitcoin as a “scam” and the broader crypto industry a “disaster waiting to happen” in 2021.

U.S. states add crypto to pension funds

Florida’s interest in crypto follows a broader trend of sovereign and state-run pension funds exploring digital assets.

Wisconsin and Michigan have both added shares in spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) to the baskets of assets held by state pension funds, while Arizona is mulling doing the same.

A May 14 filing submitted to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) shows Wisconsin’s state pension fund had acquired $99 million worth of shares in BlackRock’s IBIT ETF and $63.7 million in shares of the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust ETF.

On Jun. 27, the state of Michigan retirement system, which manages $143.9 million in pension assets for state employees, disclosed an investment of $6.6 million in the ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETFs.

On March 20, Arizona state legislators introduced a bill advocating for including Bitcoin ETFs as part of the retirement plans for state employees.

Internationally, sovereign funds in South Korea and Japan have also considered adding Bitcoin exposure to the assets held by large pension funds in recent years.