In brief
- Luxembourg became the first European nation to invest in Bitcoin, allocating 1% of its $811 million sovereign wealth fund to BTC ETFs.
- The approximately $8 million investment marks a shift from the fund’s conservative strategy of bonds and equities to include alternative assets.
- Treasury director says the allocation “strikes the right balance” while signaling confidence in Bitcoin’s long-term potential.
Luxembourg has converted a small portion of its holdings into Bitcoin ETF shares, the nation’s Minister of Finance, Gilles Roth, revealed on Wednesday. This makes Luxembourg the first country in Europe to invest in Bitcoin, via exchange-traded products.
The FSIL, or Luxembourg’s Intergenerational Sovereign Wealth Fund when it’s translated from French, reported last month that it holds its $811 million (702 million euro) portfolio as 57% bonds, 40% in equities, and 3% cash. So a 1% allocation to Bitcoin ETFs amounts to roughly $8 million.
“Some might argue that we’re committing too little too late; others will point out the volatility and speculative nature of the investment,” Bob Kieffer, Luxembourg’s director of the treasury, said in a post on LinkedIn. “Yet, given the FSIL’s particular profile and mission, the fund’s management board concluded that a 1% allocation strikes the right balance, while sending a clear message about Bitcoin’s long-term potential.”
A July 2025 policy change foreshadowed the buy. In a September bulletin, the fund said it would be rebalancing its portfolio to make room for a 1% allocation to Bitcoin, 4% to real estate, and 10% into private equity by reducing its exposure to stocks and bonds under an “alternative assets” umbrella.
The FSIL was established in 2014 to build a reserve for future generations and has up until recently invested conservatively in investment-grade bonds and index equities.
With this allocation, Luxembourg joins a growing list of sovereign or quasi-sovereign institutions experimenting with Bitcoin, following El Salvador’s direct purchases and a handful of U.S. state investment funds that have taken smaller positions.
Luxembourg is the first European country to actually buy Bitcoin-based securities, but it’s not the only one that’s interested. In January, Czechia expressed interest in BTC, but was swiftly rebuffed by European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde.
And in 2024, after Germany sold off billions worth of seized BTC, a politician criticized the move saying that the country should add Bitcoin to its treasury.
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