Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance (MassMutual), an American financial services company with more than 5 million clients, announced today that it has invested approximately $100 million in Bitcoin.
According to the official press release, MassMutual has also purchased a small stake in the New York Digital Investment Group (NYDIG). MassMutual bought BTC for its general investment account in a transaction supported by NYDIG.
The Massachusetts-based mutual life insurance company entered the crypto market to diversify its investment portfolio. Additionally, the firm has over $600 billion in assets under management with a revenue of approximately $30 billion.
NYDIG agreed to give a minority stake in the company to MassMutual in a deal worth $5 million. The New York-based Bitcoin-focused financial services company has grown rapidly in the last few years and now has over $2.3 billion of digital asset balances under custody.
Commenting on the recent investments, Tim Corbett, Chief Investment Officer of MassMutual, said: “We believe that having an equity stake in NYDIG as well as a Bitcoin position in our general investment account will help us deliver long-term value to our policyowners. We look forward to further exploring additional ways to work with NYDIG, consistent with our ongoing focus on innovation and diversification.”
Crypto Exposure
Despite the reason that MassMutual did not disclose the exact reason why the company selected Bitcoin as an investment tool, the firm told Wall Street Journal that the recent purchase is a measured and meaningful exposure to an evolving market of digital assets. NYDIG plans to take advantage of the newly formed partnership with MassMutual in order to attract more institutional investors.
“We are proud of this incredible moment in the history of both Bitcoin and the insurance industry. This reflects the expansion of Bitcoin to insurance company general investment accounts, as well as NYDIG’s unique ability to meet the complex needs of the most demanding institutional investors,” Robert Gutmann, Co-founder and CEO of NYDIG, said in a statement.