This week’s 13F filing revealed who is buying spot Bitcoin ETFs and how large their positions are. Bitwise Chief Investment Officer Matt Hougan said that while celebrating the ETF’s success, there is something important the media may be missing. I’m more bullish on the BTC ETF.
Hougan reported that 563 professional investment firms collectively own $3.5 billion worth of Bitcoin ETFs. Hougan expects this number to eventually surpass 700 companies, with total assets under management reaching $5 billion.
Hougan’s guess was spot on, with the latest data from K33 Research showing that more than 900 companies have disclosed their physical Bitcoin ETF holdings.
In a May 16 post about X, senior analyst at K33 Research Ventle Lunde shared the following chart:
“According to 13F reporting, as of March 31, 937 professional firms invested in U.S. spot ETFs. In comparison, 95 professional companies invested in gold ETFs in the first quarter (Bitwise).”
Bloomberg senior ETF analyst Eric Balchunas observed that the largest ETFs are attracting the largest share of institutional capital, with BlackRock’s IBIT attracting more than 400 holders.
Hougan called it a “huge success” and said:
“This is truly huge. For the financial advisor, family office or institution wondering if they are the only ones considering Bitcoin exposure, the answer is clear: you are not alone.”
However, management said professional investors with more than $50 billion in assets under management (AUM) own only 7% to 10% of total investments, a share of 18%, according to K33 Research data.
Lunde’s X post explained:
“Retail owns the majority of the float. Professional investors held $11.06 billion in exposure, equivalent to 18.7% of BTC ETF AUM, by the end of the first quarter.”
However, Hougan argued that the media’s portrayal of the Spot Bitcoin ETF as a “retail-focused” fund may overlook important emerging trends that make him “incredibly bullish” in his initial 13F filing.
Bitwise CIO laid out a typical four-stage investment trajectory observed across institutions, starting with a due diligence period lasting 6-12 months to evaluate the investment. The second step is for experts to make small personal allocations before “exposing investors to the market.” Ultimately, this leads to more substantial platform-wide allocations across the entire customer book, typically in the range of 1-5% of the portfolio, approximately six months after the initial allocation.
“This tells us that the allocations seen in recent 13F filings are merely down payments,” Hougan wrote.
Hougan used Hightower Advisors as an example, explaining that its current spot Bitcoin ETF allocation is just 0.05% of its assets. However, if you follow the typical four-step investment process, a 1% allocation over time equates to $1.2 billion for a single company.
“Multiply this by the growing number of professional investors participating in this space and you can see what lies behind my passion.”
This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. All investment and trading activities involve risk and readers should conduct their own research when making any decisions.