During the third quarter of 2023, South Korea's National Pension Service (NPS), one of the world's largest pension funds, made its debut investment in the global cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase, purchasing more than 280,000 shares. A stock holdings report filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on November 15 revealed that NPS acquired 282,673 shares of Coinbase stock during this period.
The investment, valued at $27.7 million based on Coinbase's closing price of $98.15 on November 15, marks an increase in value by 39% since its purchase, as per data from TradingView. According to SEC filings, NPS initially procured a tranche of Coinbase shares for approximately $19.9 million, leading to a profit of roughly $7 million or a 39% gain for the pension fund.
This investment by South Korea's public pension fund represents its first purchase of Coinbase stock, as reported by local news outlet News1. Notably, the National Pension Service has a policy refraining from direct investments in cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin due to their volatility. Earlier in 2021, the South Korean National Assembly scrutinized NPS for its investments in businesses associated with cryptocurrencies. NPS defended its stance, asserting that it exclusively invests in exchanges and not directly in cryptocurrencies.
Coinbase stock has shown substantial growth in 2023, soaring to $110 per share in July. According to TradingView data, Coinbase shares have surged by nearly 170% year-to-date, commencing 2023 at around $37. However, despite this impressive growth, the stock is still down by 74% from its all-time high, which was over $300 in September 2021.
Throughout 2023, Coinbase experienced significant expansion despite facing legal challenges from the U.S. SEC. In June 2023, the SEC filed a lawsuit against Coinbase, alleging that the exchange had offered unregistered securities on its platform, violating U.S. securities laws. In response, in October, Coinbase once again questioned the SEC's jurisdiction within the crypto space, asserting that the regulator's definition of securities was excessively broad.
