Institutional investors have made significant strides in their adoption of spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs). In the fourth quarter of 2024, they invested a staggering $38.7 billion, according to recent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), marking more than tripling of their previous investments.

Key Points:

• Institutional investors did not shy away from the volatility of bitcoin prices and instead significantly increased their holdings.
• Prominent funds such as Wisconsin’s pension board and hedge fund billionaire Paul Tudor Jones are among those ramping up their investments in bitcoin ETFs.
• BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) now boasts over 1,100 institutional holders, a potential milestone for a newly launched ETF.

Data indicated that despite the fluctuations in cryptocurrency prices, large financial entities like pensions and hedge funds have aggressively grown their positions in bitcoin ETFs.

According to Matt Hougan, Bitwise’s chief investment officer, this surge includes investments that surpassed the $12.4 billion previously reported for the last quarter.

Funds that manage over $100 million must disclose their holdings quarterly, leading to insights into the growing confidence in bitcoin ETFs since their inception in January 2024. Notably, the State of Wisconsin investment board has increased its stake in BlackRock’s share offering to over 6 million shares by the end of December.

Similarly, Paul Tudor Jones has nearly doubled his investment in IBIT, raising his holdings from 4.4 million to over 8 million shares. Keith Meister’s Corvex Management has also revealed it holds more than a million shares by year’s end.

Industry Expert Insights:

Eric Balchunas, a senior ETF analyst at Bloomberg, remarked that IBIT currently stands out with a record 1,100 institutional holders—a substantial figure compared to the average for newly launched ETFs, which typically see fewer than 10 holders.

“While it’s difficult to ascertain the exact record, prior first-year ETFs probably averaged around 350 institutional holders,” Balchunas noted.

The continuous uptick in institutional investment signifies a robust belief in bitcoin’s future as a legitimate financial asset.