Institutions representing a significant amount of assets are gearing up to invest in spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) by the end of June, according to Bitwise, a crypto-native asset manager. In an investment memo sent to investors on March 9, Bitwise’s chief investment officer, Matt Hougan, stated that the company was engaged in serious discussions with large corporations, major wirehouses, and institutional consultants who are looking to increase their exposure to Bitcoin in the coming months. Hougan also confirmed that a wide range of individual retail investors, family offices, hedge funds, and venture capital firms are interested in investing in spot Bitcoin ETFs. The growing institutional appetite for Bitcoin ETFs has already been credited with driving up the price of Bitcoin by more than 50% since their launch on January 11. While Bitcoin ETFs have already attracted nearly $9 billion in net inflows, Hougan expects the inflows to accelerate further in the second half of the year. These ETFs represent massive categories with trillions of dollars in assets. This is not the first time Hougan has expressed his optimism for Bitcoin ETFs, as he previously predicted a bigger wave of institutional capital entering the market, resulting in a substantial increase in Bitcoin’s price. Bitcoin ETFs have attracted over $8.89 billion in net inflows since their inception, with BlackRock’s iShares IBIT fund leading the way. On March 8, BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF surpassed MicroStrategy in terms of total Bitcoin held, with 197,943 BTC on its balance sheet.
Bitwise: Bitcoin Purchase on the Radar for Prominent Corporations and Wirehouses