TechFlow news, on October 16, according to The Herald Economy, Korea Investment Corporation (KIC), one of South Korea's largest institutional investors, recently clarified to the National Assembly that its investments in U.S. crypto-related stocks such as Coinbase and MicroStrategy are not intended as direct exposure to virtual assets, but rather part of its benchmark index tracking strategy.
In documents submitted to the National Assembly's Finance Committee, KIC stated these investments resulted from following its benchmark index, the MSCI ACWI ex Korea (unhedged) index. Coinbase was included in the index in December 2021, while MicroStrategy was added in June 2024. KIC emphasized that the size of its investments in these companies closely matches their weightings in the index.
The clarification came amid parliamentary questions about whether public funds are indirectly investing in cryptocurrencies. According to U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Form 13F filings, during the second quarter of 2024, KIC and the National Pension Service of Korea purchased 21,000 and 245,000 shares of MicroStrategy, respectively. Additionally, KIC has been invested in Coinbase since the fourth quarter of 2021, holding a total of 50,400 shares.
