Hedge funds acquire stakes in U.S. bitcoin ETFs

Other hedge funds with positions in the bitcoin exchange traded funds included some that had already invested in bitcoin before the U.S. SEC finally approved the spot bitcoin exchange traded funds in January

A handful of hedge funds, including Millennium Management LLC, and other asset managers are among the institutions that acquired stakes in the recently launched U.S. ETFs tied to the price of bitcoin in the first quarter, show recent regulatory filings.

New York-based Millenium revealed it had $2 billion invested in several of the new exchange traded funds as of March 31. That included positions in BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust, the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust, and funds launched by issuers like Bitwise Investments and ARK Investment Management.

Other buyers included Boston-based hedge fund manager Bracebridge Capital, which owned $262 million of shares in the ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF as of the end of Q1 and $81 million in the BlackRock product.

Bracebridge has among its clients a group of institutional investors like the endowments of Yale University and Princeton University.

A filing from the state of Wisconsin’s investment board, which manages $156 billion in assets for the Wisconsin Retirement System, disclosed purchases of BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust worth over $99 million as of the end of March. It also revealed holding of over $63 million in shares in the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust.

Other hedge funds with positions in the bitcoin exchange traded funds included some that had already invested in bitcoin before the U.S. SEC finally approved the spot bitcoin exchange traded funds in January.

New York-based Hunting Hill Global Capital said it owned $29.1 million in the Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin ETF and $21.3 million in the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust.

Adam Guren, founder and Chief Executive Officer of Hunting Hill, said the company had been investing in Grayscale’s bitcoin trust for a year or more as bitcoin’s price and the value of its stake rose ahead of the ETF approval.

Investors have poured around $29 billion into the bitcoin exchange traded funds since January, Morningstar Direct data revealed.