Despite Bitcoin’s subdued performance in recent months, the 13-F filings for the spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs) paint a bullish picture for the BTC price. Bitwise Chief Investment Officer (CIO) Matt Hougan has done just that shared a summary of the three most interesting takeaways from the Q2 filings via
#1 Increased institutional adoption of Bitcoin
Hougan highlights an impressive increase in institutional involvement in Bitcoin ETFs in the second quarter of the year. He reported: “I count 1,924 holder<>ETF pairs across all ten ETFs, up from 1,479 in the first quarter. That’s an increase of 30%; not bad when you consider that prices fell in the second quarter.” This data suggests that institutional investors are increasingly viewing Bitcoin as a viable asset class, even amid price declines, indicating a long-term commitment rather than short-term speculative plays.
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Hougan concludes: “Of course, this does not mean that 1,924 institutions own bitcoin ETFs; some investors report positions in multiple ETFs. But that ‘double counting’ aspect applies equally to the first and second quarter figures, so the percentage increase is still significant. My conclusion: Institutional investors continued to adopt bitcoin ETFs in the second quarter. The trend is intact.”
#2 Institutional investors are HODLers
The holding patterns in these papers show that a substantial portion of institutional investors remained loyal to their Bitcoin ETF holdings, reflecting a resilient attitude to market volatility. “Of first-quarter applicants, 44% increased their position in bitcoin ETFs in the second quarter, 22% held steady, 21% decreased their position and 13% exited,” Hougan said.
These numbers are especially telling because they show that more than two-thirds of institutions maintained or increased their exposure to Bitcoin ETFs during a period of significant price fluctuations. Hougan interprets this data as a sign that institutional investors own “diamond hands,” an informal term used within the community to describe holders who do not sell their holdings despite pressure or market declines.
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Hougan added: “If you thought institutional investors would panic at the first sign of volatility, the data suggests the opposite. They are quite stable.”
#3 Broad investor base
Hougan’s analysis also highlights the diverse range of investors participating in Bitcoin ETFs. Major hedge funds such as Millennium, Schonfeld, Boothbay and Capula are prominent among the top holders. What is striking, however, is the presence of advisors, family offices and other institutional investors such as the state of Wisconsin.
“ETFs are a big tent that attracts a wide variety of investors. It’s pretty great to see Millennium stack up against the state of Wisconsin in these ETF filings. I would like to see asset managers and pensions account for a growing share over time,” said Hougan.
Yesterday it became public that the Wisconsin Pension Fund has increased its Bitcoin ETF holdings. In an SEC filing, the State of Wisconsin Investment Board reported that it owned 2,898,051 shares of iShares Bitcoin Trust as of June 30 (worth $98.9 million on that date). This is an increase from the 2,450,400 shares Wisconsin reported earlier in May.
At the time of writing, BTC was trading at $58,035.
Featured image created with DALL.E, chart from TradingView.com