South Korean Pension Fund Sees 40% Profit on $20M Coinbase Bet

National Pension Service (NPS), a leading South Korean pension fund, has made a 40% profit on its investment in Coinbase shares (COIN) worth 26 billion won (Approximately $20 million).

NPS Acquires Coinbase Shares Worth $20M

Citing a stock holdings report submitted by NPS to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), News1 reported that during the third quarter (Q3) of this year, the company had purchased 282,673 Coinbase shares at an average price of $70.5 – equivalent to $20 million.

The report stated that as the price of Coinbase shares correlated with the increase in valuation of the crypto market during the third quarter, NPS achieved a 40% profit on its Coinbase investment.

“The National Pension Service’s average purchase price per Coinbase share is $70.5. Considering that Coinbase closed at $98.15 as of [Wednesday] closing price, it is making a profit of about 40% in just one quarter,” the report stated.

With the latest close, NPS’s Coinbase investment is now valued at approximately $28 million, amounting to a profit of $8 million.

Coinbase shares surged 4% during the third quarter and have increased by more than 170% since the beginning of the year. 

Delving Into Crypto 

Founded in 1988, NPS is the largest public pension fund in South Korea and the third-largest in the world, with over $800 billion in assets. Recently, the company has been looking to buy a portfolio of blue-chip stocks from emerging markets, such as crypto.

While NPS has recently continued to delve into the crypto sector, the company has been cautious about crypto assets due to volatility.

When criticized by South Korea’s National Assembly for allowing one of its funds to invest in a crypto-related business two years ago, NPS stated that it only invested in the exchange and not crypto assets.

Notably, this marks the first time the National Pension Service has included a crypto-related company in its U.S. stock investment portfolio.