Institutions hold $13b of Bitcoin ETF shares

After legacy companies initially expressed skepticism about Wall Street’s new crypto asset class, US Bitcoin exchange-traded funds have captured institutional demand.

American institutions have purchased $13 billion worth of spot Bitcoin (BTC) ETF shares since trading began in January, CryptoQuant CEO Ki Young Ju said in a statement via X on Oct. 22. Citing Form 13F filings, a quarterly document that asset managers use to disclose their U.S. stock holdings, Young Ju noted that 1,179 institutions raised 193,064 BTC in 10 months.

Traditional finance giants like Millennium Management and Jane Street control 20% of the $65 billion, or 961,645 BTC, spread across 11 spot Bitcoin ETFs issued by BlackRock, Bitwise, Grayscale and Fidelity, among others.

The growing institutional adoption of spot BTC ETFs suggests that the initial distaste for Bitcoin-related funds was short-lived. Experts such as Bloomberg’s Eric Balchunas and James Seyffart often say asset managers are slowly adapting to new products.

Less than a year after its launch, the BTC product by BlackRock has become the fastest-growing ETF in US financial history. The data also showed that BlackRock’s IBIT recorded the third-largest inflow of rival ETFs that have been around for more than 20 years.

Analysts see spot BTC ETF demand, especially in the US, as a key catalyst in Bitcoin’s expected price increase. One BTC cost around $67,000 at press time, as a market-wide correction slowed the asset’s recent rally.

Firms like QCP Capital believe short-term volatility could impact BTC and digital asset markets, leading to the US presidential election. However, researchers predict that price fluctuations will ease and historical patterns will repeat. General market sentiment suggests Bitcoin will trade above $100,000 by early 2025, and BTC advocates like MicroStrategy’s Michael Saylor are predicting a $13 million Bitcoin by 2045.

24-hour BTC price chart – October 22 | Source: crypto.news