More than 600 institutions and pension funds are rushing into the market

Institutions enter the market in a big way

More than 600 companies have announced large investments in spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in 13F documents recently submitted to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). According to the disclosed data, professional investment companies have announced that they own Bitcoin ETFs worth up to $3.5 billion.

Millennium Management has become the largest investor in BTC ETFs, allocating up to $1.9 billion. Their investments include $844.2 million in BlackRock iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), $806.7 million in Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC), and $202 million in Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC).

Next up is Schonfeld Strategy Advisors, a hedge fund with $13 billion in assets under management, which invested $248 million in BlackRock's ETFs and another $231.8 million in Fidelity funds, for a total of $479 million.

Morgan Stanley, one of the leading financial institutions, has disclosed a huge investment of $269.9 million in GBTC, consolidating its position as one of the largest holders of GBTC. Alternative asset management company Aristeia Capital announced an investment of $163.4 million in IBIT.

Other financial giants such as JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, UBS, BNP Paribas and Royal Bank of Canada are also on the list of investors. Although inflows have slowed significantly in recent weeks, the spot Bitcoin ETF experienced huge demand in the first three months after its launch in mid-January.

Pensions Enter the Market

The Wisconsin Pension Fund has added Bitcoin to its balance sheet, buying more than $160 million worth of shares in two newly approved funds earlier this year.

The Wisconsin Investment Board purchased more than $99 million worth of Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) shares from investment giant Blackrock between January 1 and March 31, according to U.S. Securities and Exchange filings. The investment board, known as SWIB, also bought another Bitcoin ETF from Grayscale worth about $64 million. David Krause, an associate professor emeritus of finance at Marquette University, said there is a difference between buying bitcoin itself and buying shares of a bitcoin ETF. People can buy bitcoin directly and store it in a digital wallet, but Krause said a bitcoin ETF is more like a mutual fund. He said the ETF's shares are tied to the price of bitcoin, but investors don't actually own the cryptocurrency. "These are traded on a stock exchange," Krause said. "So they are liquid just like stocks. They are also regulated by the SEC. That gives investors confidence that they are not buying the asset directly." While $160 million is a lot of money, Krause said it's just a small portion of Wisconsin's overall pension fund. As of the end of December, SWIB held more than $155 billion in assets, the vast majority of which are in the Wisconsin Retirement System.

“Like any good portfolio manager, you want to diversify,” Krause said. “Now that bitcoin has been around for more than a decade, we’ve realized that it not only provides pretty strong returns — sometimes pretty spectacular returns over a period of time — but also the ability to diversify. It doesn’t move directly with stocks and bonds.”

Krause said SWIB’s involvement in the bitcoin fund is a “big deal” because it is considered one of the most respected pension funds in the country.  

“I can assure you that most institutional fund managers are taking notice,” Krause said. "Just a few days ago, Pension Magazine highlighted Wisconsin's approach. Therefore, I am very confident that almost everyone who runs a large pension fund or institutional fund is aware that SWIB has taken this action." "SWIB's investment may increase the confidence of other pension funds in the legitimacy and potential of Bitcoin ETFs," said Fedenia. "Seeing well-known institutions like SWIB take the risk can alleviate people's concerns about Bitcoin volatility, regulatory risks and overall investment theory."

Written at the end

JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, UBS, BNP Paribas and Royal Bank of Canada, Wisconsin Pension Fund...With a large number of traditional institutions and pensions rushing into the market, perhaps the real bull market has just begun.