A senior analyst with crypto intelligence platform K33 Research says investments in spot Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are surging.
In a post on social media platform X, Vetle Lunde says that the number of professional firms that invested in Bitcoin ETFs in Q1 outpaced the number of firms that invested in gold ETFs in their first quarter.
“According to 13F reporting, 937 professional firms were invested in US spot ETFs as of March 31. In comparison, gold ETFs had 95 professional firms invested in their first quarter (Bitwise).”
13F filings are the quarterly reports that institutional investment managers with over $100 million in assets under management (AUM) submit to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Lunde notes that retail investors make up the lion’s share of those who hold spot Bitcoin ETFs, with $47.96 billion in investments, representing 81.3% of the assets under management in spot BTC ETFs.
“Retail owns a majority of the float. Professional investors held exposure of $11.06 billion by the end of Q1, representing 18.7% of the BTC ETF AUM.”
Lunde says the biggest ETFs, including ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF (ARKB) and the VanEck Bitcoin Trust (HODL), have attracted the largest portion of institutional capital.
“ARKB and HODL have seen greater institutional dominance, helped by ARK and VanEck’s allocation to these ETFs.”
Financial giants have been buying up Bitcoin ETF shares: Morgan Stanley has purchased 4.27 million shares of the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) worth $269.8 million, and JPMorgan is holding around $760,000 in spot BTC ETFs on behalf of its clients. Similarly, Wells Fargo disclosed that it was holding 2,245 shares of the GBTC worth $121,000 for its clients.
The state of Wisconsin also recently disclosed that it has large holdings in two Bitcoin trusts. New 13F filings show that the State of Wisconsin Investment Board has nearly $163 million worth of Bitcoin ETF holdings with BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) and GBTC.
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