Korea’s $1T Pension Fund Grew Its Bitcoin Bet — Then Crashed Harder

South Korea's National Pension Service (NPS), managing over $1 trillion, expanded its investment in MicroStrategy (MSTR) by 20% during the fourth quarter of 2025, even as Bitcoin prices declined from a cycle high. According to a February 2026 SEC filing, NPS held 614,409 MSTR shares by year-end, valued at $93.4 million, down sharply from $205 million in Q3 due to MSTR's stock collapse.

MSTR, which holds significant Bitcoin, functions as a leveraged proxy for BTC, and its stock is down 75% from its 2024 high. NPS holds four crypto-related stocks (MSTR, Robinhood, Coinbase, and Block), and the total value of this portfolio has dropped approximately 44% from its peak in Q3 2025 to an estimated $338 million as of late February 2026.

Although NPS officially claims it does not invest in digital assets, stating these holdings track an MSCI benchmark, political sentiment is shifting toward allowing direct crypto investment. For now, the fund's passive tracking strategy has resulted in significant paper losses on its indirect Bitcoin exposure.

(Source：BeInCrypto)