Norway’s $1.7T wealth fund boosts Bitcoin exposure by 83% via crypto-linked stocks, signaling rising institutional interest in crypto.
Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM), the entity managing Norway’s Government Pension Fund Global, has significantly increased its indirect Bitcoin exposure by 83% in the second quarter of 2025, according to a report by Standard Chartered’s global head of digital assets research, Geoffrey Kendrick. With assets totaling $1.7 trillion, the fund, which is generally considered the biggest sovereign wealth fund globally, increased its Bitcoin-like assets by 6,200 BTC to 11,400 BTC.
Norway’s Wealth Fund Expands Bitcoin Exposure via Strategy, Metaplanet
The rise is due to a step-up of NBIM in companies that have large amounts of Bitcoin, in particular Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy, ticker MSTR) and Metaplanet, the Japanese version of MicroStrategy. As Kendrick analyzes based on the most recent 13F reports filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the position of the fund remains largely concentrated on Strategy, which currently owns more than 628,000 BTC by the middle of 2025.
A smaller amount, which was about 200 BTC-equivalent, was also introduced to Metaplanet, which indicates a diversified strategy toward crypto-related stocks. This new strategic direction was outlined in a report issued on August 16, 2025, and has elicited debates amongst the financial analysts.
The ruling is in line with wider global institutional acceptance of cryptocurrencies. Such investment was facilitated by the U.S. authorization of Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in January 2024, and other nations, such as Singapore and Switzerland, have also started considering digital assets in their financial plans.
In the case of Norway, economic necessity is one of the reasons behind this move. As oil and gas revenues (which are traditionally the backbone of the fund) will drop by 15% in 2025 as production decreases and the world energy transitions to renewable energy, diversification with such assets as Bitcoin is a priority.
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Norway’s NBIM Avoids Regulation with Indirect Bitcoin Strategy
Standard Chartered’s analysis shows that NBIM is using an indirect way to gain exposure to Bitcoin. This assists it in evading immediate regulatory concerns. The same approach was used by the APG of the Netherlands, which invested in crypto-linked stocks with a sum of $50 million.
This will enable NBIM to enjoy the increasing value of Bitcoin without having to purchase the cryptocurrency. Take the example of Bitcoin, which touched the $117,749 mark on August 16, said CoinShares. The increase in turn makes indirect exposure more appealing.
In October 2024, Standard Chartered established its crypto research group. This is an indication of the convergence of traditional finance and digital assets. This is one of the emerging trends in the research conducted by Kendrick, who is a major analyst.
Then, the 83% increase in the exposure of NBIM in Bitcoin is a significant step. In late 2024, K33 Research estimated the exposure of NBIM at $356 million. At this point, in Q2 2025, it can be more than $600 million because of the price increase of Bitcoin.
Due to this, analysts reckon other sovereign wealth funds will begin copying this. In case that comes about, it will move the Bitcoin prices even higher. Conversely, there are issues that it brings up as well. Bitcoin is highly volatile, and substantial investments are risky. Lastly, the decision of Norway can be a turning point. It will be a fresh beginning of institutional crypto investing.
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