Bitcoin
Bitcoin ETFs Draw Bets from Millenium Global, Wisconsin Retirement System in Q1
By Suzanne McGee and Hannah Lang
(Reuters) -A handful of hedge funds, including Millennium Management LLC, and other asset managers are among the institutions that have taken stakes in recently launched U.S. exchange-traded funds (ETFs) tied to the price of bitcoin in the first quarter, from in accordance with recent regulatory filings.
New York-based Millenium revealed it had $2 billion invested in several of the new ETFs as of March 31. This included positions in BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust, Grayscale Bitcoin Trust and funds launched by issuers such as Bitwise Investments and ARK Investment Management.
Other buyers included Boston-based hedge fund manager Bracebridge Capital, which owned $262 million worth of shares in the ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF at the end of the first quarter and $81 million in the BlackRock product.
Bracebridge, which did not return calls seeking comment, counts among its clients a group of institutional investors, including endowments from Yale University and Princeton University.
A document from the Wisconsin state investment board, which manages $156 billion in assets for the Wisconsin Retirement System, revealed purchases from BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust worth more than $99 million in late March. It also disclosed holding more than $63 million in shares of the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust.
The Wisconsin State Investment Board declined to comment.
Other hedge funds with positions in bitcoin ETFs included some that had already invested in bitcoin before the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission finally approved spot bitcoin ETFs in January.
New York-based Hunting Hill Global Capital said it held $29.1 million in the Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin ETF and $21.3 million in the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust.
Adam Guren, founder and CEO of Hunting Hill, said the firm has been investing in Grayscale’s bitcoin fund for a year or more as the price of bitcoin and the value of its holdings rose before the ETF’s approval.
Investors have invested about $29 billion in bitcoin ETFs since January, data from Morningstar Direct showed.
The documents appear to confirm that while some hedge funds have taken large positions, retail investors – including investment advisors – remain the largest category of buyers by number. Hightower Advisors, one of the country’s largest advisory firms, disclosed holdings of about $68 million in bitcoin ETFs but declined to comment on portfolio decisions.
Quarterly disclosures, known as 13-F filings, are made to the Securities and Exchange Commission about 45 days after the end of each quarter and may not reflect current positions.
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Matt Hougan, Bitwise’s chief investment officer, noted in a memo to clients posted on social media platform . Until these records surfaced, it was difficult to determine which investors were behind the purchase of the products, which far exceeded even the most optimistic estimates and helped drive the price of bitcoin itself to new highs this year.
(Reporting by Suzanne McGee and Hannah Lang; Editing by Ira Iosebashvili, Michelle Price and Richard Chang)