169-Year-Old
Insurance Firm MassMutual Makes $100 Million Bet on Bitcoin
The 169-year-old Massachusetts
Mutual Life Insurance Co. has purchased $100 million in bitcoin for its
general investment firm, as well as a $5 million minority stake in
institutional cryptocurrency provider NYDIG.
NYDIG already keeps more than
$2.3 billion in cryptoassets for its clients, and will now provide custody
services for MassMutual’s bitcoins. The BTC investment will reportedly
represent 0.04% of the general investment account of nearly $235 billion
MassMutual had as of Sept. 30.
A company spokeswoman, Chelsea
Haraty, was quoted as saying:
“We see this initial investment as a first
step, and like any investment, may explore future opportunities.”
The investment comes shortly
after the price of bitcoin hit a new all-time high, after more than doubling
this year. MassMutual joins other companies like Square and MicroStrategy who
invested in the flagship cryptocurrency.
