Professional investors are still in the early stages of configuring spot Bitcoin ETFs, and there is huge potential for growth in the future.

By Matt Hougan, Chief Investment Officer at Bitwise

Translated by Luffy, Foresight News

Spot Bitcoin ETFs have been hugely successful. Since their launch on January 11, they have attracted $11.7 billion in funds, making them the most popular ETFs in history.

Now everyone wants to know: who is actually buying? Specifically, people want to know if it's professional investors or retail investors driving the fund flows.

This is an important question. The huge potential of Bitcoin ETFs lies in their ability to open the door for professional investors to buy a large amount of Bitcoin, thereby significantly increasing the pool of funds invested in Bitcoin.

If it's professional investors buying, that's great. But if it's all retail, then it's not as encouraging. Why? Because the scale behind it is completely different.

In the first few months after the ETFs were launched, this question had no answer. Investors purchased ETFs through brokerage accounts, which meant that fund companies like Bitwise wouldn't know who was buying their funds. However, once a quarter, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission requires investors with assets over $100 million to report their holdings of publicly traded securities through the so-called "13F" filings.

Technically, these filings should be submitted within 45 days after the end of the quarter, which means investors must submit their reports by May 15. But thousands of reports have already been submitted, so we now have a preliminary understanding of the owners of these ETFs.

This data is very interesting, and here are the three most important points.

Key Point 1: Many professional companies own Bitcoin ETFs

To write this memo, I analyzed all 13F filings for 11 publicly traded spot Bitcoin ETFs as of May 9. A significant finding is that many professional investors own Bitcoin ETFs.

These include some well-known asset management companies, such as:

• Hightower Advisors: According to Barron's, the company is the second-largest RIA company in the U.S., managing $122 billion in assets. They own $68 million worth of Bitcoin ETFs.

• Bracebridge Capital: A hedge fund based in Boston, managing funds for institutions like Yale University and Princeton University. They hold $434 million worth of Bitcoin ETFs.

• Cambridge Investment Research: A company with over 40 years of history, managing assets exceeding $170 billion. They own $40 million worth of Bitcoin ETFs.

• Sequoia Financial Advisors: Based in Towson, Maryland, with a market value of $17 billion. They own $12 million worth of Bitcoin ETFs.

• Integrated Advisors: A company based in Dallas with over 12,000 clients, managing $4 billion in assets. They own $11 million worth of Bitcoin ETFs.

• Brown Advisory: A company based in San Francisco with a value of $96 billion. They own $4 million worth of Bitcoin ETFs.

As of last Thursday, a total of 563 professional investment companies reported that they hold $3.5 billion worth of Bitcoin ETFs. By the May 15 filing deadline, I estimate that we may ultimately have over 700 professional companies, with total assets under management approaching $5 billion.

This is definitely a big deal. For anyone wondering if they are the only financial advisor, family office, or institution considering investing in Bitcoin, the answer is clear: you are not alone.

Key Point 2: Historical scale of professional investor holdings

For a new ETF, this level of holdings is extraordinary. Most ETFs attract very few 13F filers in the first few months after listing. Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas said the number of large investors in Bitcoin ETFs is surprising.

The closest comparison I could find in historical records is the gold ETF launched at the end of 2004. At that time, the launch of the gold ETF was considered the most successful ETF in history, raising over $1 billion in the first five days. However, when it first submitted 13F filings, the gold ETF had only 95 professional companies investing.

In terms of breadth of ownership, the Bitcoin ETF has achieved historic success.

Key Point 3: Retail investors hold the majority of circulating shares of Bitcoin ETFs

While I believe that $3-5 billion and 563-700 companies represent a huge success, it's important to remember that the assets managed by Bitcoin ETFs amount to $50 billion. Therefore, calculated as a percentage of total investment, professional investors only own 7-10% of all assets.

I suspect the media will seize on this figure, implying that these ETFs are "retail-driven" funds. To some extent, their claim is valid: retail investors have indeed poured a significant amount of money into Bitcoin ETFs, which is a good thing. It means they are able to access these investments on the same terms as the world's largest institutions.

But I believe this claim overlooks a key pattern we have seen in institutions when it comes to cryptocurrency allocations.

Let me explain.

Why these 13F filings make me unusually optimistic

Bitwise has been dedicated to helping professional investors access cryptocurrencies for over seven years. Today, we serve thousands of companies, including RIAs, brokers, family offices, and institutions.

One thing I've learned from seven years of practice is that most investors follow a familiar pattern:

• Step 1: Due diligence. Most professional investors need 6-12 months to evaluate cryptocurrencies. It's extremely rare for clients to allocate funds to this area immediately after the initial meeting.

• Step 2: Personal allocation. We often see professionals make a small personal allocation before representing clients. They want to test the waters before pushing investors into the market.

• Step 3: Independent client allocations. Next, these professionals typically allocate to a small number of clients, often those who have actively inquired about cryptocurrencies.

• Step 4: Portfolio-wide allocations. About six months after the initial allocation, many companies begin to allocate across their entire client base, typically at 1%-5% of the portfolio.

Not all advisors fit this pattern, but it's what we often see.

This tells us that the Bitcoin ETF allocations shown in the recent 13F filings are just initial trials. For example, Hightower Advisors may allocate $68 million to Bitcoin ETFs today, which is great, but it's only 0.05% of their assets. If they follow the pattern above, this allocation will increase over time. Specifically, allocating 1% of their portfolio to Bitcoin would be equivalent to $1.2 billion, and that's just from one company.

Considering the growing number of professional investors entering this space, you can understand why I'm so excited.

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