HOUSTON and NEW YORK, Oct. 21, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Houston Firefighters' Relief and Retirement Fund (HFRRF), the pension fund for the City of Houston's firefighters, today announced that it had purchased bitcoin and ether for the defined benefit plan's portfolio. This investment marks the first announced investment in digital assets by a public pension plan in the U.S. and was facilitated exclusively by NYDIG, a leading bitcoin company.

"We are excited to take this first step forward into the world of digital assets. This investment expresses our belief in the disruptive potential of distributed ledger technology for the development and democratization of value accumulation through disintermediation," said Ajit Singh, HFRRF's Chief Investment Officer. "We have been studying digital assets' transformative potential for some time, and we are pleased to have a partner of NYDIG's caliber to ensure secure, robust and efficient execution, and enhanced compliance as we enter this new market."

The public plan has made the investment through a customized private fund managed by NYDIG using the firm's regulated, audited and insured custody system.

The partnership will enable the plan to leverage NYDIG's secure, full-stack platform on behalf of its benefactors. HFRRF's benefactors today include more than 6,600 active and retired firefighters and survivors of firefighters.

"This investment represents a watershed moment for bitcoin and its place in public pensions," said Nate Conrad, Global Head of Asset Management at NYDIG. "Fiduciaries are increasingly aware of how even a small allocation to digital assets can make a big impact over time, and they now have a partner in NYDIG who can help them make it happen. We couldn't be happier to be supporting forward-thinking entities like HFRRF in their mission to best serve their members."