Bitcoin
These traditional financial giants bought Bitcoin ETFs in the last quarter
Bitcoin continues to reach new levels of real-world adoption, with traditional financial firms (TradFi) adopting the digital asset at a remarkable pace. Significant investment in spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) signifies growing institutional interest in crypto assets.
Last quarter, an impressive number of US banks, investment managers, hedge funds and professional firms purchased Bitcoin ETFs in cash, as seen in their 13F filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
A tweet by digital asset investment analysis platform K33 Research revealed that 937 professional firms in the US invested in the Bitcoin ETF spot market as of March 31. Therefore, it may be difficult to know and list all the TradFi companies that have joined the Bitcoin ETF bandwagon in the first three months of the year.
TradFi Giants Jump on the BTC Bandwagon
Some of the biggest Bitcoin ETF investments have come from Millennium Management, a heavyweight hedge fund, and Susquehanna International Group (SIG), a global quantitative trading firm. The companies reported investments of $2 billion and $1 billion in Bitcoin products, respectively.
Investments from Millennium Management and SIG were followed by Bracebridge Capital, a Boston-based hedge fund that manages money for top universities like Yale and Princeton, and Boothbay Fund, another New York-based fund manager. The entities purchased ETFs worth $434 million and $377 million, respectively.
Substantial ETF disclosures also came from major U.S. banking firm Morgan Stanley and consulting firm Pine Ridge Advisers, with investments totalizing US$269 million and US$205.8 million, respectively.
Additionally, alternative asset manager Aristeia Capital, investment firm Graham Capital and hedge fund manager Crcm LP reported significant exposures of $163.4 million, $102.6 million and $96.6 million , respectively, to Bitcoin ETFs.
States next?
Many other professional firms have disclosed smaller investments in the Bitcoin ETF market. Some of these include Hightower Advisors with $68 million exposure, Fortress Investment Group with $53.6 million, Cambridge Investment Research with $40 million, Sequoia Financial Advisors with $12 million, Integrated Advisors with $11 billion, and Brown Advisory with US$4 million.
Of note, large banks like JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo have invested even smaller amounts totaling $760,000 and $143,000, respectively, in the Bitcoin ETF market.
It is also worth mentioning that most of these companies spread their investments across multiple ETFs, with Grayscale’s GBTC, BlackRock’s IBIT, Fidelity’s FBTC and Ark Invest’s ARKB recording the largest allocations.
However, the digital asset market may soon witness an influx of investments from state-owned professional companies. The Wisconsin State Investment Board has already set the pace with an exposure of US$163 million in Bitcoin ETFs.