Bitcoin has become an asset class of increasing interest among institutional investors following the approval of the US Spot Bitcoin Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) in January 2024.
Since then, the net asset value (NAV) among US institutional spot investors has grown significantly, reaching a total of over 682,830 BTC worth $54.49 billion.
This surge has attracted institutional clients from across the market, and recent filings suggest that Chinese investors could now be among these participants, owning a significant stake.
Chinese investors could be making a big bet
The latest 13F filing – a quarterly disclosure required by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) from institutional investment managers – revealed new entrants to BlackRock’s IBIT Spot Bitcoin ETF.
Among the holders is Laurare Ltd., which reportedly controls the equivalent of $436 million worth of Bitcoin [BTC] despite leaving no digital footprint.
Jeff Park, a Bitwise advisor, linked this entity to Chinese investors in Hong Kong through the name of the petitioner, Zhang Hui.
“Zhang Hui is the Chinese equivalent of John Smith. It’s what I like to call a ‘non-anonymous, anonymous’ name: hidden in plain sight, buried under millions of records to make it untraceable,” Park explained.
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Laurare Ltd. appears to be a classic offshore wrapper, likely based in the Cayman Islands or BVI, allowing Chinese investors to access US markets in ways that would otherwise be limited. Park notes that China’s ban on institutional Bitcoin ownership may have led to this strategy.
“This could be an early sign of institutional Chinese capital entering Bitcoin,” Park added. “The name Laurore is probably derived from the French l’aurore: ‘the dawn.’”
Bitcoin Investment Routes in Hong Kong
Hong Kong’s own Spot Bitcoin ETFs have significantly underperformed their US counterparts.
According to SoSoValuethe total net asset value of HK spot Bitcoin ETFs is 3,870 BTC, valued at approximately $264.9 million at the time of writing.
The stakes are divided among three institutional investors – ChinaAMC, Bosera HashKey and Harvest – in descending order of their importance.
If Park’s assessment of Chinese investor involvement is correct, the $264.9 million in HK ETFs represents roughly 61% of Laurore Ltd.’s $436 million stake in IBIT, but less than 0.5% of the broader U.S. NAV of $54.49 billion.
Bitcoin is under pressure from more than Chinese investors as US institutional participants have cut significant portions of their assets under management.
Since Bitcoin peaked in October 2025, the assets under management of these institutional funds have fallen from $163.27 billion to approximately $54.49 billion, a decline of 66.6%.
Interestingly, this decline in institutional assets under management has outpaced the decline in the price of Bitcoin itself.
While Bitcoin’s market value fell 45.79% from its all-time high, the corresponding AUM in US institutional spot positions fell 66.6%, reflecting an additional 20.8% decline on top of the price movement.
This gap shows how cautious institutional investors have become, liquidating their positions even faster than the losses in the underlying assets.
The outlook for Bitcoin remains weak
Sentiment remains bearish and the outlook for Bitcoin continues to weigh on institutional performance.
Short-term and long-term holders, especially whales who control large capital, remain net sellers.
A recent AMBCrypto report shows that these investors dominate spot trading volumes, with the whale-to-market ratio indicating continued liquidation.
Until the selling slows and sentiment among market participants normalizes, Bitcoin risks further significant declines that could impact its long-term price trajectory.
Final summary
- Some Chinese investors appear to be acquiring Bitcoin through BlackRock using a structured approach as domestic holdings are still banned in China.
- Recent Chinese purchases are reportedly roughly 1.6 times the total net asset value (NAV) of the Hong Kong spot Bitcoin ETF.