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Colombia’s Second-Largest Pension to Launch Bitcoin Fund for Qualified Clients

Colombia’s second-largest private pension and severance fund manager, AFP Protección, plans to launch an investment fund with exposure to Bitcoin.

The plan was confirmed by Juan David Correa, president of Protección SA, in an interview with local outlet Valora Analitik. Correa said access to the product will be limited and offered only through a personalized advisory process that evaluates each client’s risk profile. 

Only investors who meet defined criteria will be able to allocate a portion of their portfolios to Bitcoin.

Correa framed the initiative around diversification rather than a change in core investment strategy. 

“The most important element is diversification,” he said, adding that eligible clients will be able to assign a percentage of their portfolios to exposure to this type of asset if they choose.

Protección’s move follows a similar step by Skandia Administradora de Fondos de Pensiones y Cesantías, which introduced Bitcoin exposure in one of its portfolios in September. With this launch, Protección became the second major pension fund administrator in Colombia to offer clients access to Bitcoin-linked investments.

Bitcoin as an additional investment option for Colombia

The company said the new product does not alter how the majority of pension savings are managed. Fixed income instruments, equities and other traditional assets will continue to form the foundation of both mandatory and voluntary pension portfolios.

The Bitcoin-linked fund is positioned as an additional option for qualified investors seeking broader portfolio construction rather than a replacement for existing allocations.

Founded in 1991, AFP Protección manages more than 220 trillion Colombian pesos, or about $55 billion, in assets. The firm serves more than 8.5 million clients across mandatory pension plans, voluntary pension products and severance savings accounts. 

The broader mandatory pension fund market in Colombia reached 527.3 trillion pesos as of November 2025, with close to half of those assets invested outside the country.

The announcement comes as Colombia tightens oversight of the digital asset sector. Earlier this month, the national tax authority, DIAN, introduced a mandatory reporting framework for crypto service providers. The rules require exchanges, custodians and intermediaries to collect and submit user and transaction data.

The framework aligns Colombia with the OECD’s Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework, enabling automatic exchange of crypto-related tax information with other jurisdictions. 

Service providers must report identifying information and transaction details for reportable users and comply with due diligence and valuation standards or face penalties, per local reports. 

This post Colombia’s Second-Largest Pension to Launch Bitcoin Fund for Qualified Clients first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Micah Zimmerman.

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Filed under: Bitcoin - @ January 26, 2026 5:24 pm