The Korea Investment Corporation (KIC) has added Coinbase Global, Nasdaq-listed cryptocurrency exchange platform 73 million people around the world trade, to its portfolio as the first crypto asset.
According to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filings on Wednesday (local time), the Korean sovereign fund owned 87,000 shares worth $1.86 million worth $1.866,150 based on Coinbase’s Wednesday closing price of $214.5.
Although the investment was relatively small, it marked a shift in the sovereign wealth fund’s conservative investment.
KIC CEO Jin Seung-ho last year said he did not think sovereign fund should yet invest in digital assets like bitcoin.
The fund manages foreign exchange assets entrusted by the finance ministry and the central bank.
It maintained there is no change in its investment guideline. The investment in Coinbase had been made indirectly as it tracks key indices, an official said.
Coinbase in November became part of the MSCI world index, weighted in KIC’s equity portfolio.
Coinbase with more than 73 million users successfully went public on the Nasdaq last year.
By Kim Myung-hwan and Jenny Lee
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