Institutional Investors Pump $38.7 Billion Into Bitcoin ETFs in Q4, Tripling Previous Quarter’s Activity
Institutional investors significantly increased their exposure to spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the fourth quarter of 2024, purchasing a massive $38.7 billion worth of shares, according to filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Despite Bitcoin’s price fluctuations, major financial institutions—including hedge funds and pension funds—continued piling into Bitcoin ETFs. SEC 13F filings show that institutional investments in these funds tripled from the $12.4 billion reported in Q3, as highlighted by Matt Hougan, Chief Investment Officer at Bitwise.
The SEC requires firms with over $100 million in assets to disclose their holdings each quarter, providing insight into the growing institutional interest in Bitcoin ETFs.
Many institutional investors have steadily increased their positions since the ETFs debuted in January 2024. Among them, the State of Wisconsin’s Investment Board expanded its stake to more than 6 million shares of BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) by year-end.
Additionally, billionaire hedge fund manager Paul Tudor Jones nearly doubled his IBIT holdings, increasing from 4.4 million shares to over 8 million. Corvex Management, an asset management firm founded by Keith Meister, disclosed ownership of over 1 million shares in IBIT at the end of Q4.
According to Eric Balchunas, senior ETF analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, IBIT now boasts 1,100 institutional holders, an unprecedented number for a newly launched ETF.
“Most ETFs in their first year attract fewer than 10 institutional holders,” Balchunas said, adding that the previous record for a first-year ETF was likely around 350 institutional investors.
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