Largest US Pension Fund CalPERS Loses $64M On Michael Saylor’s Strategy

California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS), the largest public pension plan in the US with over $550 billion in assets, is sitting on unrealized loss of about $64 million in Michael Saylor’s Bitcoin treasury firm Strategy. 

According to a recent filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), CalPERS acquired 448,157 Strategy (MSTR) shares in the third quarter this year for $144 million. 

With MSTR shares plunging about 45% so far this quarter, the pension fund’s stake is now valued at about $80 million.  

Strategy share price (Source: Google Finance)

Strategy Faces MSCI Delisting Risk

Investor sentiment toward Strategy, often regarded as a leveraged proxy for the price of Bitcoin, has turned sharply negative since the record $19 billion crypto market liquidation on Oct. 10.

Adding to its problems was a recent warning by Wall Street giant JPMorgan that it could lose up to $12 billion in buying potential if MSCI and other index providers boot it out of their indexes.

MSCI has said it is considering delisting companies that hold more than 50% of their assets in crypto, with a decision due on Jan. 15. It added that some crypto treasury companies may be more similar to investment funds that are not eligible for inclusion in its indexes.

Saylor commented on the pending MSCI decision by saying that Strategy is “not a fund, not a trust, and not a holding company.”  

“Index classification doesn’t define us,” he added. ”Our strategy is long-term, our conviction in Bitcoin is unwavering, and our mission remains unchanged: to build the world’s first digital monetary institution on a foundation of sound money and financial innovation.”

Strategy’s BTC Buying Streak Ends

Strategy pioneered the crypto treasury trend when it started purchasing Bitcoin in 2020 as part of a corporate reserve plan. Over the years, the company has continued to grow its holdings in the crypto and is now the largest Bitcoin treasury firm, with 649,870 BTC on its balance sheet, according to Bitcoin Treasuries data.

Even with the recent slump in the crypto market, Strategy stayed true to its plan and grew its reserves with a series of acquisitions during a period that saw other crypto treasury firms hit the brakes on their buying.

Strategy had been on a six-week Bitcoin buying spree. However, this streak came to an end this week, with no fresh BTC purchases. 

The decision to halt its Bitcoin purchases came just a week after the company made its largest acquisition in months on Nov. 17, when the firm announced that it had bought 8,178 BTC for around $836 million at an average price of $102,171 per coin.