International hedge fund Millennium Management has announced that it currently possesses nearly $2 billion in spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) as of Q1 2024. According to the firm’s 13F filing with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, Millennium has allocated a total of $1.94 billion across five spot Bitcoin ETFs, including the ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF, Bitwise Bitcoin ETF, Grayscale Bitcoin Trust, iShares Bitcoin Trust, and Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin ETF.
Out of these holdings, Millennium’s largest allocation is in BlackRock’s Bitcoin fund, with an investment of over $844 million, followed closely by Fidelity’s fund, which holds just over $806 million worth of shares. This makes Millennium the dominant player in the Bitcoin ETF market, as it holds 200 times the exposure of the average new ETF holders in the top 500, as noted by Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas.
Balchunas also shared that approximately 60% of new spot Bitcoin ETF buyers are investment advisory firms, while hedge funds make up around 25% of the total. The recent mandatory 13F filings have provided insight into the Bitcoin ETF market and have made Bitwise chief investment officer Matt Hougan more optimistic about Bitcoin’s future.
In a memo to investors on May 13, Hougan highlighted the importance of these filings in revealing the institutional interest in Bitcoin ETFs. He mentioned notable firms such as Hightower Advisors, Bracebridge Capital, and Cambridge Investment Research as holders of these products, indicating a strong presence of professional investors. Hougan predicts that by the May 15 filing deadline, there could be over 700 professional firms holding Bitcoin ETFs, with a total assets under management approaching $5 billion.
Furthermore, on May 14, The State of Wisconsin revealed that it had invested a total of $164 million in two funds offered by Grayscale and BlackRock. This further demonstrates the growing institutional interest in Bitcoin ETFs. However, the popularity of Bitcoin ETFs has also made platforms like Coinbase a target for hackers and governments, as warned by Trezor CEO in a recent statement.