More hedge funds buy Bitcoin ETFs on institutional demand

Hedge funds, pensions and banks continued to lavish capital into exchange-traded funds that invest directly in Bitcoin, as more traditional investors embrace the asset class that US regulators begrudgingly helped push into the mainstream at the beginning of the year.

Among the most well-known buyers that have emerged are hedge funds like Millennium Management, which held shares in at least five Bitcoin ETFs, according to a Bloomberg analysis of second-quarter filings with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm, which has $68 billion in assets under management, trimmed its stakes in the ETFs significantly from the prior quarter but remained as the top holder for most of the funds, including BlackRock‘s iShares Bitcoin Trust.

Capula Investment Management, Schonfeld Strategic Advisors and Steven Cohen’s Point72 Asset Management also reported stakes in the ETFs. Other buyers ranged from the State of Wisconsin Investment Board to market makers among firms crossing geographies from Hong Kong to the Cayman Islands, Canada and Switzerland.

There were 701 new funds reporting spot-Bitcoin ETF holdings following Wednesday’s deadline to file second-quarter 13F reports with the SEC, data compiled by Bloomberg show, bringing the total number of holders to almost 1,950. Millennium, Capula, Schonfeld, SWIB and Point72 declined to comment.The spot-Bitcoin ETFs that debuted in January have smashed expectations in terms of flows and assets. In all, the cohort, including newer entrants, has attracted a net inflow of $17 billion this year, with BlackRock’s IBIT swelling into a $20 billion behemoth. The existence of such ETFs has given everyday investors an easier way to trade in and out of Bitcoin.