Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan says that institutions are making their way over to crypto markets as the count of corporate holders of Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded funds (ETFs) grows.
Hougan says on the social media platform X that “the institutions are still coming”, and he counts 1,924 holders of ETF pairs across all 10 of the Bitcoin ETFs currently trading on the stock market.
Hougan notes that it is a 30% increase from the previous quarter despite falling prices in Q2.
Says Hougan,
“Of course, this does not mean 1,924 institutions own Bitcoin ETFs; some investors report positions in multiple ETFs. But that double-counting’ aspect is equally true of the Q1 and Q2 numbers, so the percentage increase is still telling.
My takeaway: Institutional investors continued to adopt bitcoin ETFs in Q2. The trend is intact.”
The CIO also says that the institutions adding exposure to BTC ETFs generally have “diamond hands,” or are investors that are very reluctant to sell their coins.
“Institutions have (mostly) diamond hands: most institutional investors who allocated in Q1 either held or bought more shares this spring. Among Q1 filers, 44% increased their position in Bitcoin ETFs in Q2, 22% held steady, 21% decreased their position, and 13% exited. That’s a pretty good result, on par with other ETFs.
My takeaway: if you thought institutional investors would panic at the first sign of volatility, the data suggest otherwise. They’re pretty steady.”
While hedge funds remain big Bitcoin ETF players, Hougan says multiple types of investors are getting BTC exposure through exchange-traded funds.
“But there are a large number of advisors, family offices, and select institutional investors too.
My takeaway: ETFs are a big tent that attracts a wide variety of investors. It’s kind of great to see Millennium nestled up against the State of Wisconsin in these ETF filings. Over time, I’d like to see wealth managers and pensions account for a growing share.”
At time of writing, Bitcoin is trading for $58,579.
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