Bitcoin ETFs attract 937 professional firms in Q1: K33 Research

Institutional capital favors larger ETFs like ARKB and HODL.

Spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) appeared in 937 professional firms’ 13F filings in the US, shared Vetle Lunde, senior analyst at K33 Research. In stark contrast, gold ETFs only saw investments from 95 professional firms in the same period, according to data from Bitwise.

Retail investors continue to hold the majority of the float, but professional investors accounted for over $11 billion in exposure by quarter’s end, which is 18.7% of the total Bitcoin ETF assets under management (AUM).

The trend indicates that larger ETFs are generally more attractive to institutional investors. Notably, ARKB and HODL ETFs have experienced a higher degree of institutional backing, largely due to allocations from prominent firms such as ARK and VanEck.

Among the professional firms that held Bitcoin ETF shares are JPMorgan, UBS, and Wells Fargo. Even the State of Wisconsin Investment Board revealed its holdings of over $99 million worth of BlackRock’s IBIT at the end of the first quarter.

However, as highlighted by Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart, the 13F Forms are a “snapshot” of these institutions’ holdings as of March 31, and they don’t account for short positions and derivatives.

After the US inflation numbers came within the expected, investors turned to ETFs again. As reported by the X user Lookonchain, 9 ETFs added 3,893 BTC to their holdings, which is nearly $256 million.

Grayscale’s GBTC registered an outflow of 839 BTC, while Fidelity added 1,989 BTC to its holdings. BlackRock’s IBIT is inching closer to GBTC, falling less than 14,000 BTC short with its 274,755 BTC under management.