Over $50 billion USD was used to buy American Bitcoin spot ETFs: Asset management companies are the main buyers, with multiple Hong Kong institutions making the list.

Author: Nancy, PANews

The opening of the gate for mainstream capital inflows into Bitcoin spot ETF has shown strong attractiveness in a short period. Recently, with the continuous release of the US 13F (Institutional Holdings Report), the institutional positions participating in "sweeping" Bitcoin spot ETF have also been exposed. So, how is the market development of Bitcoin spot ETF? Which ETF products have the investment giants allocated to, and what investment signals have they released?

Over $50 billion in funds poured in, the US holds nearly 90% of the global share

Looking at the global market size of Bitcoin spot ETFs, the US is undoubtedly the main force. According to HODL15Capital data monitoring, as of May 7th, the US Bitcoin spot ETF has held 8273.21 million BTC in the four months since its launch, worth about $52.1 billion, accounting for 89.5% of the global market.

However, in terms of the rate of fund growth, the funds flowing into the US Bitcoin spot ETF mainly came from the two months after listing, reaching a peak of 836,000 BTC in mid-March this year, followed by a slight monthly decline trend.

Among these 11 US Bitcoin spot ETFs, the top three, namely Grayscale, BlackRock, and Fidelity, have shown super strong "attractiveness," holding a total of 719,000 BTC (worth $26.91 billion), accounting for 86.9% of the overall, about more than 3.3 times that of "Bitcoin whale" MicroStrategy. In contrast, Franklin Templeton, WisdomTree, and Hashdex have relatively weaker performances, accounting for only 8.8%.

In terms of asset size, only Grayscale and BlackRock's two Bitcoin spot ETFs have exceeded $10 billion. Among them, Grayscale has been in a state of continuous outflow of funds since converting from GBTC to spot ETF, with the current number of BTC held only 47% of that in January this year; BlackRock has shown a basic growth trend over the past few months, but the expansion rate has slowed down since mid-April and even slightly decreased.

Additionally, as the first market in Asia to issue spot Bitcoin ETFs, as of May 7th, three Hong Kong Bitcoin spot ETFs have collectively held 42,560 BTC, with assets under management reaching $270 million, but it is only about 0.7% of the US Bitcoin spot ETFs on the first day of listing, and there has been no significant growth trend within a week of going online. It is worth mentioning that there have been recent rumors in the market that Hong Kong Bitcoin spot ETFs may be included in the Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect program, but the Hong Kong ETF issuer has denied this, stating that, like the rumor that Southbound funds can buy Hong Kong Bitcoin spot ETFs, it is purely a rumor.

Asset management is the "main force" for subscriptions, these three products are the mainstream choices

The 13F report is considered an important channel for obtaining a barometer of Wall Street investment trends. According to the US SEC regulations, institutional equity asset managers with assets exceeding $100 million must disclose their current holdings of US equities within 45 days after the end of each quarter (three months) and provide information on the destination of the funds. According to the information already disclosed in the market, many institutions have listed Bitcoin spot ETFs as investment targets. For example, Fintel data shows that IBIT has 207 institutional owners and shareholders, and GBTC has 402 institutional owners and shareholders.

PANews has compiled a list of some institutions that have purchased Bitcoin spot ETFs and found that asset management institutions have relatively more investment funds, with a richer selection of products, but a smaller proportion in their overall investment portfolios, while banks are more cautious in product selection and have limited investment funds. Among the multiple Bitcoin spot ETFs, GBTC, IBIT, and FBTC are almost the mainstream trading varieties in the market. Additionally, interestingly, three Hong Kong institutions have all invested in US Bitcoin spot ETFs, which may be related to factors such as fee differences and the background of asset custodians.

Susquehanna: Over $1.3 billion in GBTC, FBTC, ARKB, IBIT, and BITB

Quantitative trading company Susquehanna International Group disclosed in its submitted documents that it purchased over $1.3 billion worth of spot Bitcoin ETFs, including 17.3 million shares of GBTC (worth over $1.1 billion), 1.3 million shares of FBTC (worth $83.7 million), 508,824 shares of ARKB (worth $36.1 million), 583,049 shares of IBIT (worth about $23.6 million), 560,832 shares of BITB (worth $21.7 million), 256,354 shares of HODL (worth $20.6 million), 255,814 shares of BTCW (worth $19.3 million), 166,200 shares of BTCO (worth $11.8 million), and 192,391 shares of BRRR (worth $3.9 million). These combined investments account for only a small part of the company's total investment of $57.59 billion.

Ovata Capital Management: Over $74 million in FBTC, GBTC, BITB, and IBIT

Hong Kong asset management company Ovata Capital Management's latest filing with the US SEC shows that it holds a significant position in US Bitcoin spot ETFs, including FBTC, GBTC, BITB, and IBIT, accounting for 13.5%, 11.2%, 8.8%, and 5.6% of its investment portfolio, with a total value exceeding $74 million.

Hightower: Over $68.34 million in GBTC, FBTC, IBIT, ARKB, BITB, and EZBC

Hightower, a $130 billion asset management company, disclosed in an SEC filing that it has purchased over $68.34 million worth of US Bitcoin spot ETFs, including $44.84 million in Grayscale GBTC, $12.41 million in Fidelity FBTC, $7.62 million in IBIT, $1.70 million in ARKB, $0.99 million in BITB, and $0.79 million in EZBC. However, this portion of the investment accounts for less than 0.1% of its total investment of $61.7 billion.

Yong Rong Asset Management: Around $38 million in IBIT

Hong Kong-based Yong Rong Asset Management has purchased around $38 million worth of IBIT, accounting for 12% of its investment portfolio, ranking first in BlackRock's Bitcoin spot ETF holdings. Yong Rong (Hong Kong) Asset Management Limited is a securities investment and asset management company established in 2012, with several hundred million dollars in assets under management. In addition to Bitcoin spot ETFs, the institution's latest investment portfolio also includes Nvidia, Tesla, Meta, Pinduoduo, and Luckin, among others.

United Capital Management: Over $34.91 million in FBTC and BITO

United Capital Management holds over 350,000 shares of FBTC and 410,000 shares of BITO, accounting for 4.9% and 3% of its latest investment portfolio, with a total value of around $34.91 million. United Capital Management is an important shareholder of Fidelity FBTC.

United Capital Management is an investment advisory firm based in the US, sold to Creative Planning, one of the largest private investment advisory firms in the US, with investment assets exceeding $436 million.

Legacy Wealth Asset Management: Over $28.5 million in FBTC and GBTC

Asset management company Legacy Wealth Asset Management holds over 350,000 shares of FBTC, accounting for 6.09% of its latest investment portfolio, as well as over 100,000 shares of GBTC, accounting for 1.84%, with a total value exceeding $28.5 million. Legacy Wealth Asset Management is also a major shareholder of Fidelity FBTC.

Monolith Management: Over $24 million in IBIT

Investment company Monolith Management, founded by former Sequoia China partner Cao Xi, revealed in a document that it holds over $24 million worth of IBIT, ranking fifth in BlackRock ETF holdings, more than twice its investment in Meta stocks. In addition, the company's two largest investments are Nvidia and Microsoft.

Monolith Management is headquartered in Hong Kong and was founded by former Sequoia China partner Cao Xi and former Boyu Capital secondary market partner Tim Wang. The first fund has a scale of over $500 million, focusing mainly on technology and innovation-driven sectors such as technology, software, life sciences, and consumer fields.

IvyRock Asset Management: $19 million in IBIT

IvyRock Asset Management is a hedge fund management company headquartered in Hong Kong, which disclosed in its latest filing that it holds nearly $19 million worth of BlackRock's spot Bitcoin ETF, IBIT.

Quattro Financial Advisors: Over $16.5 million in IBIT

Quattro Financial Advisors is a joint family office and the second-largest holder of Fidelity Bitcoin spot ETF, holding 468,000 shares of IBIT, worth around $16.5 million, accounting for 5.4% of its investment portfolio.

Oxler Private Wealth: Over $11.2 million in IBIT

Investment platform Oxler Private Wealth holds 280,000 shares of IBIT in its latest investment portfolio, worth approximately $11.24 million, accounting for 4.4%.

Newbridge Financial Services Group: Approximately $1.34 million worth of GBTC

Newbridge Financial Services Group has assets exceeding $340 million, holding about 20,000 shares of GBTC, worth around $1.34 million, representing only 0.58% of its $23 million investment portfolio.

The Bank of New York Mellon: Approximately $1.11 million worth of GBTC

The Bank of New York Mellon, the oldest bank in the United States, reported in its SEC filing that it holds 19,918 shares of IBIT and 7,108 shares of GBTC, currently valued at approximately $1.113 million.

SouthState Bank: Over $570,000 worth of GBTC and IBIT

SouthState Bank disclosed investments in two physical Bitcoin ETFs in its US SEC 13F filing, totaling $577,198, including 6,606 shares of GBTC (valued at approximately $417,301) and 3,951 shares of IBIT (valued at around $159,897). SouthState Bank's investment in physical Bitcoin ETFs represents only a small portion of the total $1.3 billion reported in its filing.

SouthState Bank, a US-based bank holding company, manages assets totaling $34 billion after merging with CenterState Bank.

BNP Paribas: Approximately $40,000 worth of IBIT

BNP Paribas, the second largest bank in Europe, with total assets under management exceeding $600 billion, disclosed in its recent 13F filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission the purchase of 1,030 shares of IBIT, valued at only about $40,000. BNP Paribas has been actively exploring the crypto space since last year, not only offering cryptocurrency services but also engaging in related investments, such as traditional financial asset tokenization company Fnality.