Colombia’s second-largest private pension and severance fund manager, AFP Protección is planning to introduce a new investment option that will allow selected clients to gain exposure to Bitcoin. This step shows that traditional financial institutions in Latin America are slowly becoming more open to digital assets.
The plan was confirmed by Juan David Correa, president of Protección, in a recent interview with a local media outlet. He explained that the Bitcoin-linked product will be offered in a limited and controlled way.
Only investors who meet certain criteria will be allowed to participate. The main goal of this initiative is portfolio diversification and risk management, not short-term trading or speculation.
This approach helps ensure that investors are protected while exploring new asset classes like Bitcoin.
How Investors Will Get Access to Bitcoin
Not every investor will be able to invest in Bitcoin automatically. AFP Protección will first offer this option through a personalized advisory process.
During this process, advisors will carefully review each investor’s risk tolerance, financial goals, and investment experience.
Only clients who meet the required criteria will be allowed to invest, and even then, only a small portion of their portfolio can be allocated to Bitcoin.
According to President Juan David Correa, the main purpose of this initiative is diversification, not speculation.
Eligible investors can add Bitcoin alongside traditional assets like bonds and equities, helping them spread risk while keeping their overall investment portfolio balanced and stable.
Bitcoin as a Diversification Tool
Protección has clarified that this new Bitcoin option will not change how Colombia’s pension system works. The main pension investments will continue to focus on traditional assets such as fixed income, stocks, and other regulated financial products.
Bitcoin is being introduced only as an additional choice for investors who want more diversification. The Bitcoin-linked fund is mainly designed for voluntary pension plans or customized investment strategies.
It will not be included in mandatory pension savings, which make up the largest share of retirement funds in Colombia.
For now, the company is taking a careful approach to ensure stability and long-term financial security for pension holders.
Following the Path of Skandia
Protección’s move comes after Skandia, another well-known pension fund manager in Colombia, took a similar step.
Earlier, Skandia introduced Bitcoin exposure in one of its investment portfolios using a dollar-cost averaging strategy, which helps reduce risk by spreading investments over time.
Protección becomes the second major pension fund in Colombia to offer Bitcoin-related investments. This shows that large financial institutions are slowly becoming more comfortable with digital assets.
Rather than taking big risks, they are adding Bitcoin in a careful and controlled way to give investors more options and improve portfolio diversification.
Scale of Protección’s Operations
Founded in 1991, AFP Protección is one of Colombia’s most influential pension fund managers. The firm currently serves around 8.5 million clients across mandatory pensions, voluntary pensions, and severance savings accounts.
Protección manages more than 220 trillion Colombian pesos (approximately $55 billion) in assets. Across the wider pension market, mandatory pension funds in Colombia totaled 527.3 trillion pesos as of November 2025, with nearly half of those assets invested abroad.
Regulatory Context in Colombia
Colombia is strengthening its crypto rules as more people and institutions invest in digital assets like Bitcoin.
Recently, the country’s tax authority, DIAN, introduced new mandatory reporting requirements for crypto exchanges, custodians, and other service providers. Under these rules, companies must collect and share user and transaction data with tax authorities.
The goal is to improve transparency and prevent tax evasion and illegal activities. These regulations follow the OECD’s Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework, which helps countries exchange crypto-related tax information with each other.
Overall, the new rules aim to create a safer and more regulated crypto environment in Colombia.
