The hearing will be held to discuss a bill that could allow up to 5% of the country's $300 billion treasury reserve to be allocated to Bitcoin. The proposal’s main goal is to protect Brazil’s reserves from foreign exchange volatility and geopolitical risks while also promoting blockchain innovation. So far, it attracted both support and criticism from top officials. This move is also part of the global trend that was started by a US executive order to create a national Bitcoin reserve.
Meanwhile, institutional interest in Bitcoin is rising, with Michigan’s State Retirement System increasing its ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF holdings to $11.3 million and maintaining a strong Ethereum position. Public pension funds, including Wisconsin’s $321 million Bitcoin bet, are helping fuel a surge in crypto ETF inflows, pushing Bitcoin and Ethereum to new highs.
Brazil Considers Bitcoin Reserve Plan
Brazil is moving closer to potentially becoming the next nation to embrace Bitcoin. On Aug. 20, the country’s House of Representatives is scheduled to hold a public hearing to discuss a bill that proposes the creation of a national Bitcoin reserve. The proposal was originally introduced in November of 2024, and its main goal is to allow up to 5% of Brazil’s treasury funds—approximately $15 billion based on the Central Bank's $300 billion reserve—to be allocated to Bitcoin.
Scheduled hearing
The hearing is expected to include participation from at least six prominent institutions, including the Central Bank of Brazil, the Ministry of Finance, representatives from fintech companies, the traditional banking sector, and a crypto advocacy group. According to the bill, the purpose of the reserve is twofold: to safeguard the country’s international reserves against foreign exchange volatility and geopolitical risks, and to encourage the development and adoption of blockchain technologies across both public and private sectors.
While the proposal has received some support, it also caused debate. Pedro Giocondo Guerra, chief of staff to Vice President Geraldo Alckmin, voiced strong backing for the initiative earlier this year by calling Bitcoin “the digital gold” and asserting that the debate is crucial to Brazil’s long-term economic prosperity. On the other hand, critics are a bit more cautious. Nilton David, Brazil’s central bank director of monetary policy, argued that including crypto assets in the country’s foreign reserves would be inappropriate.
This move by Brazil is part of a global trend that was started by US President Donald Trump’s March executive order to create a national strategic Bitcoin reserve. Since then, countries like Kazakhstan revealed similar plans. Others like India and Sweden are also rumored to be exploring the idea.
Currently, the countries with the largest Bitcoin holdings include the United States, China, the United Kingdom, Ukraine, Bhutan, and El Salvador. Whether Brazil joins their ranks will depend on the outcome of the upcoming legislative process.
Michigan Pension Fund Bets Bigger on Bitcoin
It is not only countries creating Bitcoin stockpiles. Michigan’s State Retirement System made a big move into the digital asset space by increasing its exposure to Bitcoin through the ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF (ARKB).
Regulatory filings with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) reveal that by the end of Q2 2025, the pension fund owned 300,000 shares of ARKB. This is a large jump from the 110,000 shares it held the previous year. At press time, these shares were valued at approximately $11.3 million based on ARKB’s current trading price of $37.72, assuming no shares have been sold since the last disclosure.
State of Michigan Retirement system holdings (Source: SEC)
The ARKB ETF, which is one of 11 spot Bitcoin ETFs that were approved by the SEC in January of 2024, provides direct exposure to Bitcoin, simplifying institutional investment into the asset. In addition to its Bitcoin stake, Michigan’s pension fund also holds 460,000 shares of the Grayscale Ethereum Trust (ETHE), a position that is worth around $9.6 million. This ETH allocation stayed steady since September of 2024, which indicated that the fund has long-term confidence in both of the leading cryptos.
Michigan is also not alone in this trend. Earlier this year, the State of Wisconsin Investment Board disclosed a much larger Bitcoin investment of $321 million through BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust and Grayscale’s GBT. This all suggests that there is a growing appetite among public pension funds for cryptocurrency exposure.
This institutional came as Bitcoin ETFs continue to thrive in 2025. In fact, the sector experienced over $1 billion in net inflows on two consecutive days in mid-July. That inflow streak helped propel Bitcoin to a new all-time high above $123,000.
Bitcoin ETF flows (Source: BitBo)
Altcoins have not been left behind, as Ethereum ETFs are also gaining good traction. BlackRock’s iShares Ethereum ETF became the third-fastest fund to surpass $10 billion in assets under management. On-chain data from Dune Analytics shows that Ether ETF holdings surged by over 40% in the past month alone, which fueled a sharp rally in Ethereum’s price to above $3,800 in July—more than doubling in value since early May.
