Two-thirds of institutional Bitcoin ETF holders held or bought more in Q2

Martin Young4 hours agoTwo-thirds of institutional Bitcoin ETF holders held or bought more in Q2Over 44% of asset managers increased their Bitcoin ETF holdings, while 22% held their position, which was a “pretty good result,” according to Bitwise’s investment chief.1599 Total views23 Total sharesListen to article 0:00NewsOwn this piece of crypto historyCollect this article as NFTCOINTELEGRAPH IN YOUR SOCIAL FEEDFollow ourSubscribe onAround 66% of institutional investors held or increased their Bitcoin holdings via United States-based spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs) during the second quarter, according to Bitwise. 

According to 13F filings with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, 44% of asset managers increased their Bitcoin (BTC) ETF positions in the second quarter, while 22% held steady.

Only 21% decreased their positions, and 13% exited, which is “a pretty good result, on par with other ETFs,” commented Bitwise chief investment officer Matt Hougan in an Aug. 15 X post.

The SEC Form 13F is a quarterly report that is required to be filed by all institutional investment managers with at least $100 million in assets under management.

Q2 of 2024 was bullish for spot Bitcoin ETFs despite the asset value declining by 14.5% over the three months. Hougan added:“Institutional investors continued to adopt Bitcoin ETFs in Q2. The trend is intact.”

Hougan observed 1,924 holder/ETF pairs across all 11 funds, up from 1,479 in Q1. “That’s a 30% increase; not bad considering prices fell in Q2,” he stated.

He also said that institutional investors were mostly “diamond hands” and did not panic sell as retail does when volatility increases.“If you thought institutional investors would panic at the first sign of volatility, the data suggest otherwise. They’re pretty steady.”

Hougan noted that hedge funds, such as Millennium, Schonfeld, Boothbay and Capula, were “big players” in terms of top ETF holders. However, there are a large number of advisers, family offices and select institutional investors, too, he said, concluding:“ETFs are a big tent that attracts a wide variety of investors. It’s kind of great to see Millennium nestled up against the State of Wisconsin in these ETF filings. Over time, I’d like to see wealth managers and pensions account for a growing share.”Spot Bitcoin ETF fund flows turn negative again. Source: Farside Investors

Related:Morgan Stanley discloses $188M in BlackRock Bitcoin ETF holdings

In a 13F filing on Aug. 14, investment bank Morgan Stanley reported owning 5,500,626 shares of BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) as of June 30, which were valued at $188 million at the time. This position makes Morgan Stanley a top-five fundholder.

Investment giant Goldman Sachs also reported exposure to more than $238 million in shares of IBIT and other spot Bitcoin ETFs.

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