Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM) disclosed that its indirect exposure to Bitcoin reached 11,549 BTC, valued at approximately $725 million, in the first half of 2026, according to K33 Research. The figure is a new all-time high and represents the sixth consecutive period of growth for the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund’s indirect bitcoin exposure.
The position grew 21.2% in H1 2026 and 60.5% year-over-year, entering five-digit territory for the first time. K33 Head of Research Vetle Lunde noted the exposure is equivalent to roughly $125 or 205,000 sats per capita for Norway, but only about 0.03% of NBIM’s total assets under management, which stand near $2.4 trillion.
K33 emphasized the exposure is “in all likelihood, not a deliberate measure from the fund but rather a consequence of its broadly diversified portfolio,” yet called it “one of the clearest examples of bitcoin’s advance into mainstream finance.”
The indirect bitcoin exposure is heavily concentrated in Strategy, whose stock accounts for nearly 86%, or 9,914 BTC. NBIM holds 1.17% of Strategy shares, valued at about $357.3 million. Other contributors include Metaplanet (671 BTC, 5.8%), MARA (421 BTC, 3.6%), Coinbase (183 BTC, 1.6%), Block (120 BTC, 1%), and Tesla (97 BTC, 0.8%). NBIM’s largest percentage ownership among bitcoin-holding companies is Metaplanet at 1.56%.
NBIM also added a new indirect Ethereum position through Bitmine, an Ethereum treasury company chaired by Tom Lee. The fund held 6.15 million Bitmine shares as of June 30, valued at $88.3 million, representing a 1.16% stake. With Bitmine holding 5,805,238 ETH, this equates to roughly 67,340 ETH, or about $126.3 million in indirect ether exposure.
The disclosure comes as crypto markets face mixed sentiment. A reported data breach affecting 14,000 Trezor customers has raised security concerns, while the BIP-110 fork’s failure to gain traction adds to near-term uncertainty. Bitcoin was trading around $62,788, down 1.4% over 24 hours, and Ether at $1,876, down 0.5%, according to The Block.
