According to the Financial Times, Canada’s largest single-profession pension plan has learned its lesson after investing in crypto exchange FTX and will not be making any hasty decisions regarding future cryptocurrency investments.
After losing $95 million in a now-defunct crypto exchange, the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan is no longer bullish on cryptocurrency investments. Several prominent funds invested in FTX between 2021 and 2022, just before the exchange’s eventual demise.
Pension Plan No Longer Bullish On Crypto
According to chief executive Jo Taylor, the $190 billion Canadian pension fund is “still working through what exactly happened there and you’re going to be careful.”
He continued by saying that the OTPP should not rush into another cryptocurrency investment based on member opinions.
“We’ve had some learnings from the investment. We’ve had feedback from our members. We regret any loss on their behalf,” the CEO said.
The Canadian pension fund’s 0.05% position was enough to put off further crypto purchases for the time being, despite the fund’s massive $190 billion portfolio.
Looking Away Following Backlash
The fund’s endorsement of a company whose founder is under investigation for fraud totaling billions has also drawn criticism.
“We took our time and did a lot of due diligence on the business. It didn’t turn out the way we thought. We weren’t necessarily shown all the information we needed to know to make a balanced decision,” Taylor said.
Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, Canada’s second largest pension fund manager, exceeded the loss experienced by the Ontario fund with FTX.
They had invested $150 million in failed cryptocurrency lender Celsius Network, all of which was written off. Similarly, a Quebec-based fund has decided to avoid digital currency investments.
OTPP has expressed support for FTX in the past, making two investments totaling $95 million in 2021 and early 2022. The exchange was at the forefront of its industry at the time, which coincided with a period of rapid growth in the bitcoin market.
Despite the small size of the fund’s stake (less than 0.05%), OTPP was criticized (along with many others) for doing business with a company whose founder, Bankman-Fried, is being prosecuted on multiple counts of fraud and conspiracy. The trial date has been set for October.
Crypto total market cap currently pegged at $1.12 trillion on the daily chart at TradingView.com
No More Investing In Crypto
Last month, Bankman-Fried was hit with new indictments alleging that he bribed officials in the Chinese government.
On the new allegations, he entered a not guilty plea. Eight counts, including money laundering and securities fraud, were filed against him in December; 12 more, including operating an illegal money transmission business, were filed against him in February.
After temporarily suspending withdrawals over the summer of 2016, Celsius filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the United States. CDPQ, like the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, has committed not to make any more investments after a disastrous one.
-Featured image from THE CANADIAN PRESS/Cole Burston