Institutional Investors Show Limited Interest in Bitcoin as Only 30 Fund Managers Purchase IBIT, Reveals 13F Report
The US Bitcoin spot ETF was officially launched on January 11th this year, and has since attracted a capital inflow of $12.4 billion to the market. Who are these investors? Are they retail investors or institutional investors? According to a 13F report compiled by Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas, the institutional holdings of BlackRock’s IBIT and Fidelity’s FBTC currently account for only 0.2%, which is far behind the 42% of Bitcoin futures ETF BITO. Are institutional investors still testing the waters?
The 13F report, also known as Form 13F, is a quarterly report required by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for investment firms or advisors with assets under management exceeding $100 million. It must be submitted within 45 days after the end of each quarter. Since the US Bitcoin spot ETF was officially launched on January 11th this year, the first 13F report will cover the period up to the end of March and will be released by mid-May.
According to the latest statistics from Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas, there are currently about 30 institutions that have bought BlackRock’s IBIT, mainly funds and advisory companies. The largest percentage holder is Brookstone Capital Management, accounting for 0.04% of IBIT, while these institutional holdings only account for 0.2% of IBIT shares.
As for Fidelity’s FBTC, there are currently 11 institutional holders, also accounting for only 0.2% of the shares. One of them is Baldwin Brothers Inc, a well-known American performing arts family. Balchunas speculates that this transaction is led by Stephen Andrew Baldwin, who has played roles in The Usual Suspects and The Young Riders.
Since the 13F report deadline is in mid-May, it means that there may be many institutions not included in this statistics. However, Balchunas speculates that this also means that Bitcoin spot ETF is actually held by many retail investors.
