Norway sovereign fund records 11,549 BTC indirect exposure

Norges Bank Investment Management reported that the Government Pension Fund Global’s public-equity holdings translated into 11,549 BTC of indirect exposure as of June 30, 2026. The exposure was worth about 6.7 billion kroner ($676 million) at the end of the period. K33 Research compiled the BTC-equivalent figures.

The 11,549 BTC figure represents a 60% increase from a year earlier, rising from 9,530 BTC at year-end 2025. The growth occurred while NBIM did not buy Bitcoin directly; instead, listed companies in its equity portfolio increased the amount of Bitcoin on their balance sheets.

Strategy accounted for the largest share of the fund’s indirect Bitcoin exposure. NBIM’s stake in Strategy translated into roughly 9,914 BTC-equivalent at the end of June, about 85.8% of the fund’s total indirect BTC exposure. Other companies contributing to the exposure included Metaplanet with 671 BTC-equivalent, MARA Holdings with 421 BTC, Coinbase with 183 BTC and Block with 120 BTC. Smaller positions in Tesla, GameStop, Galaxy Digital and Bullish made up the remainder.

The number of BTC-equivalent units embedded in equity holdings rose even as the market value tied to those holdings fell. Bitcoin’s price declined nearly 30% year-to-date through June, and Strategy’s shares dropped about 40% over the same period. Those price movements reduced the estimated kroner value of NBIM’s crypto-linked positions from 8.41 billion at the end of 2025 to about 6.69 billion kroner by June 30, 2026. As a share of total assets, Bitcoin-linked exposure fell to roughly 0.03% from 0.04% at year-end 2025.

NBIM’s overall portfolio scale amplifies how corporate crypto treasuries translate into indirect exposure. The fund stood at 22.68 trillion kroner at the end of June, with 72.1% invested in equities totaling 16.36 trillion kroner. Equities returned 12.95% in the first half of 2026, contributing to a 9.4% overall return for the fund and an outperformance of 0.22% versus its benchmark.

A longer-term trend shows steady accumulation of indirect Bitcoin exposure through corporate balance sheets. K33 Research’s compilation shows about 1,507 BTC at the end of 2023, 2,446 BTC by June 2024, 3,839 BTC at the end of 2024, 7,194 BTC in June 2025, 9,530 BTC at year-end 2025 and 11,549 BTC by June 30, 2026.

NBIM also disclosed a newly reported stake in BitMine Immersion Technologies. Filings show NBIM held 6,151,062 BitMine shares worth $81.87 million at the end of June after reporting no position at year-end 2025. BitMine reported holding 5.70 million ETH as of June 28-about 4.7% of Ethereum’s circulating supply-along with 206 BTC, cash and other investments.

The market value of an equity stake does not equal the market value of the digital assets on the company’s books. A company’s share price reflects its cash, other assets, liabilities, staking income and any premium or discount applied by investors, so NBIM’s equity holdings cannot be treated as a direct one-to-one proxy for amounts of BTC or ETH.

NBIM manages the fund under mandates and limits set by Norway’s Ministry of Finance and Norges Bank’s Executive Board. Those constraints restrict deviations from the fund’s benchmark, meaning changes in the fund’s crypto exposure mainly reflect shifts in the balance sheets of companies the fund already owns through its diversified equity portfolio.