GuShiio.com This article, PANews compiled the Bitcoin/Ethereum spot ETF positions of 15 institutions in 2024, with a cumulative value of more than US$13.98 billion. From the perspective of position strategies, each company has different market expectations and asset allocation directions. Many institutions have carried out large-scale increases in holdings in the fourth quarter of 2024, especially BlackRock’s IBIT is the most attractive. In terms of position structure, most institutions mainly focus on Bitcoin spot ETF products, but many institutions also began to increase their investment in Ethereum ETF in Q4.
Author: Nancy, PANews
Crypto ETFs are accelerating their assault on the mainstream financial world. In addition to the emergence of altcoin ETF applications, institutional holdings of Bitcoin and Ethereum spot ETFs have soared.
According to The Block and Cryptosatellite, as of Q4 2024, institutional investors ‘interest in spot Ethereum ETFs has increased significantly, and the institutional holding ratio of Ethereum ETFs has jumped from 4.8% to 14.5%. At the same time, institutional investors hold 25.4% of the assets under management (AUM) of the spot Bitcoin ETF, totaling US$26.8 billion. The holding ratio of these institutions in Q3 to Q4 in 2024 increased by 113%, and the total assets under management jumped 69% to US$78.8 billion. Especially as more sovereign countries/companies begin to include Bitcoin in strategic reserves and Ethereum ETF pledge expectations continue to increase, the market size of these ETFs will be further expanded.
This article, PANews collates the Bitcoin/Ethereum spot ETF positions of 15 institutions in 2024, covering investment institutions, hedge funds, banks and pension funds. The cumulative position value of these institutions exceeds US$13.98 billion, of which Goldman Sachs, Millennium, SIG and Brevan Howard all hold positions of billions of dollars. Compared with the Bitcoin spot ETF positions of mainstream institutions in multiple quarters of 2024 calculated by PANews, the allocation of these institutions has increased significantly. From the perspective of position strategies, each company has different market expectations and asset allocation directions. Many institutions have carried out large-scale increases in holdings in the fourth quarter of 2024, especially BlackRock’s IBIT is the most attractive. In terms of position structure, most institutions mainly focus on Bitcoin spot ETF products. However, starting from Q4, many institutions have increased their investment in Ethereum ETF, mainly BlackRock’s ETHA, Fidelity’s FETH and Gray’s mini trust ETH is the main focus.
Goldman Sachs: IBIT holds as high as 83%, gray ETFSubstantial reduction in holdings
As of Q4 2024, Goldman Sachs holds nearly US$2.34 billion in Bitcoin spot ETFs, of which IBIT holds 83.7%, and the rest are FBTC and GBTC. Compared with previous quarters, Goldman Sachs significantly increased its holdings of IBIT and FBTC, and reduced its holdings and cleared GBTC, BTCO, BITB, ARKB and BTCW.
At the same time, Goldman Sachs also holds more than $470 million in Ethereum spot ETFs, but Gray’s Ethereum mini trust ETH was significantly reduced in the third quarter, while BlackRock ETHA and Fidelity’s FETH were significantly increased.
Millennium: The total value of positions exceeds US$2.8 billion, with IBIT and FBTC more favored
Millennium holds more than US$180 million worth of Ethereum spot ETF positions, including ETHA, ETH, FETH and ETHW. Among them, Gray’s ETH suffered a large reduction in Millennium’s holdings in Q4, while ETHA’s position increased by 156%.
SIG：IBIT became the largest position and significantly reduced its holdings of Ethereum ETF
Heiner International Group (SIG) is a global quantitative trading company. As of December 31, 2024, SIC held Bitcoin spot ETFs worth more than US$1.89 billion, including IBIT, GBTC, FBTC and BITO. Among them, IBIT had the largest increase in holdings in the fourth quarter, with an investment value exceeding US$1.42 billion, accounting for 75.1% of the overall size. At the same time, SIG also holds approximately US$11.36 million in Ethereum spot ETFs, including ETHA, FETH, ETHV and ETH, but the positions of these products all showed double-digit reductions compared with the previous quarter.
Brevan Howard: Over $1.4 billion invested in BlackRock ETF
Brevan Howard is one of the world’s largest macro hedge funds with US$40 billion under management. As of Q4 2024, Brevan Howard added more than US$1.38 billion in IBIT during the quarter, making him one of the largest shareholders. At the same time, Brevan Howard also increased his holdings of ETHA worth approximately $94.15 million in the fourth quarter.
CapulaInvestment Management: The position size is approaching US$940 million, and it continues to increase IBIT and FBTC
Capula Investment Management is one of the largest hedge fund managers in Europe. As of Q4 2024, Capula Investment Management holds nearly US$940 million worth of IBIT and FBTC, and the institution has continued to increase its holdings since the second quarter.
Schonfeld Strategic Advisors: Positions exceeding US$900 million, new additions in Q4Hold Ethereum ETF
Schonfeld Strategic Advisors is a hedge fund with $13 billion in assets under management. As of December 31, 2024, Schonfeld Strategic Advisors held US$850 million worth of Bitcoin spot ETFs, mainly FBTC, IBIT and BITB, and all increased their holdings to varying degrees in the fourth quarter. At the same time, Schonfeld Strategic Advisors also added new holdings of ETHA and FETH worth approximately US$75.28 million in the fourth quarter.
Symmetry Investment: IBIT’sThe scale of quarterly holdings surged more than 36 times
Symmetry Investment is a fund management company with macro hedging strategies. As of the fourth quarter of 2024, Symmetry Investment held US$670 million worth of IBIT, an increase of more than 36 times from the previous quarter.
Avenir Capital: IBIT accounts for 99% of its holdings,FBTC was significantly reduced
Avenir Capital is a family office controlled by Huobi founder Li Lin. As of December 31, 2024, Avenir Capital held approximately US$600 million worth of BlackRock IBIT and Fidelity FBTC, of which IBIT held 99% of its position. Compared with previous quarters, Avenir Capital chose to increase its holdings of IBIT in Q4 2024 and significantly reduced its position in FBTC.
Mubadala Investments: Increase its holdings of IBIT by nearly $440 million to become the seventh largest holder
Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund Mubadala Investments is Abu Dhabi’s second largest sovereign wealth fund and one of the largest sovereign wealth funds in the world.
Mubadala Investments will increase its holdings of Bitcoin spot ETFs in Q4 2024 and is the seventh largest known holder of IBIT. As of December 31, 2024, Mubadala Investments held 8.235 million IBITs worth nearly US$440 million.
TudorInvestment: Continue to increase IBIT positions to US$430 million
Tudor Investment is an investment company owned by billionaire Paul Tudor Jones and manages more than $10 billion in funds. As of the fourth quarter of last year, Tudor Investment held nearly US$430 million in BlackRock IBIT, 9.2 times the size of Q2 ‘s first position.
Wisconsin Investment Board: Position value exceeds US$330 million IBIT
The Wisconsin Investment Board (SWIB) was established in 1951 and currently manages more than $156 billion in assets, mainly serving the Wisconsin Retirement System (WRS) and the State Investment Fund (SIF).
As of December 31, 2024, SWIB held 6.06 million BlackRock IBITs, an increase of 109.7% from nearly 2.9 million in the previous quarter. Based on the current IBIT price of US$55.33, SWIB’s position value exceeds US$330 million. However, SWIB chose to clear 1.013 million gray GBTC in Q2 2024.
LPL Financial: The position exceeds US$150 million, with heavy positions in GBTC and IBIT
LPL Financial is the largest independently operating trader in the United States. As of December 31, 2024, LPL Financial holds approximately US$140 million in bitcoin spot ETH, mainly GBTC and IBIT, and others include mini trusts BTC, EZBC and ARKB. During the quarter, LPL Financial increased its holdings in IBIT and EZBC, etc., and newly purchased BTC, BTCW and BITO. At the same time, LPL Financial also holds $16.39 million worth of ETHA, ETHA and Gray’s mini trust ETH.
Bank of Montreal: Q4 significantly expands investment scale, IBIT accounts formajor share
Bank of Montreal is Canada’s third largest bank by market value, with total assets of more than US$1 trillion. As of December 31, 2024, Bank of Montreal held approximately US$150 million in Bitcoin spot ETFs. Of this, approximately US$139 million was invested in IBIT, and the rest was diversified in FBTC, ARKB, GBTC and BITO. While Bank of Montreal significantly increased its holdings of IBIT in Q4 of 2024, it reduced and cleared its shares of many Bitcoin spot ETFs in Q3, including Franklin Templeton’s EZBC and Gray’s Bitcoin Mini Trust BTC.
At the same time, Bank of Montreal also holds an Ethereum spot ETF worth approximately $3.869 million. Among them, Gray’s ETHA and BlackRock’s ETHA were newly invested in Q4, while Fidelity’s FETH and Gray’s Ethereum Mini Trust ETH were significantly reduced or even fully cleared.
Barclays: Holding more than US$130 million worth of IBIT, GBTC cleared
Barclays is one of the largest commercial banks in the UK. As of Q4 2024, Barclays holds 2.473 million IBITs worth more than US$130 million. However, the 2850 GBTC purchased by Barclays in Q1 2024 have been cleared in Q3.
Multicoin Capital: The value of the position is approximately 0 million,Buy back GBTC again
Multicoin Capital is a crypto fund Internet celebrity that has attracted a lot of market attention due to its multiple crypto investment Xiongwen articles. As of the fourth quarter of 2024, Multicoin Capital held approximately US$110 million worth of gray GBTC and mini trust BTC, of which GBTC was bought back again this quarter after it was cleared in Q3.
HighTower：The position exceeds US$110 million, and Q4 increases its holdings of multiple Ethereum ETFs.
HighTower is one of the largest registered investment advisers and wealth management companies in the United States, managing $130 billion in assets. The Bitcoin spot ETFs held by HighTower include GBTC, FBTC, IBIT, BITX and ARKB, with a cumulative value of nearly US$110 million. Among them, HighTower increased its holdings of HODL and IBIT relatively significantly in the fourth quarter. In terms of Ethereum spot ETF products, HighTower only holds nearly US$5 million worth of ETHE, gray mini trust ETH and FETH, most of which were purchased during the quarter.
