Japan considers Bitcoin for pension funds

Japan's Government Pension Investment Fund (GPIF), one of the largest pension funds in the world, is exploring a Bitcoin addition to its pension system.

According to Forbes, the GPIF explained this in its plans to develop new guidelines for long-term investments. According to the report, the pension fund wants to explore new asset classes that increase returns, including gold, forests and farmland. It is also already gathering information on Bitcoin.

The GPIF is also looking for "basic knowledge of the assets" and wants to understand "how foreign pension funds integrate them into their portfolios."

An example: In the U.S., the state of Arizona is considering BTC for its retirement system. The plan is to use Bitcoin ETFs from the likes of BlackRock. A corresponding bill has already been drafted.

It remains to be seen whether the fund will eventually include the cryptocurrency in its portfolio. After all, GPIF has yet to conduct extensive due diligence.

According to Reuters, the GPIF manages assets worth 225 trillion Japanese yen, or about 1.54 trillion U.S. dollars.

In February, the Japanese government proposed a law that would allow mutual funds to buy digital assets such as cryptocurrencies.