Millennium Management discloses $2B in Bitcoin ETF holdings
International hedge fund Millennium Management has revealed it held nearly $2 billion worth of spot Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded-funds (ETFs) as of the first quarter of this year.
Millennium held a total of $1.94 billion across five main spot Bitcoin ETFs as of March 31, according to its 13F filing with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission.
The hedge fund diversified its holdings of spot Bitcoin ETF products across ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF (ARKB), Bitwise Bitcoin ETF (BITB), Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC), iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) and Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin ETF (FBTC).
BlackRock’s Bitcoin fund was Millenium’s largest allocation, with over $844 million invested. Fidelity’s fund came in a close second with just over $806 million worth of FBTC shares held by the hedge fund.
Describing Millennium as the “king” of Bitcoin ETF holders, Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas noted the firm held 200 times the exposure of the average new ETF holders in the top 500.
Additionally, the majority — roughly 60% — of new spot Bitcoin ETF buyers were comprised of investment advisory firms while around 25% were hedge funds, Blachunas shared.
The recent spate of compulsory 13F filings has shed light on who is buying spot Bitcoin ETFs, something Bitwise chief investment officer Matt Hougan says has made him increasingly “bullish on Bitcoin’s future.”
Related: Vanguard’s new boss says Bitcoin ETF not on the table: Report
In a May 13 memo to investors, Hougan wrote that the quarterly 13F filings have shared important details behind who is actually buying these funds, adding that the outsized scale of institutional interest in these products was a good sign for Bitcoin moving forward.
“The big news is: a lot of professional investors own Bitcoin ETFs,” wrote Hougan, drawing special attention to the presence of firms such as Hightower Advisors, Bracebridge Capital, and Cambridge Investment Research as holders of the Bitcoin products.
“By the time the May 15 filing deadline arrives, I suspect we may end up with 700+ professional firms and a total AUM approaching $5 billion,” added Hougan.
On May 14, The State of Wisconsin disclosed that it held a total investment amount of $164 million across two funds offered by Grayscale and BlackRock.
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