Bitcoin ETFs Attract $38.7B from Traditional Investors, a Threefold Jump from the Prior Quarter.

Institutional Investors Inject $38.7B Into Bitcoin ETFs in Q4, Marking a Threefold Surge

Institutional investors dramatically increased their exposure to spot Bitcoin ETFs in the fourth quarter of 2024, pouring $38.7 billion into these funds, according to Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filings.

Despite Bitcoin’s notorious volatility, large financial institutions—including hedge funds and pension funds—continued to expand their stakes in Bitcoin ETFs. SEC 13F filings show that institutional investments tripled compared to Q3’s $12.4 billion, according to Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan.

The SEC mandates that investment firms managing over $100 million disclose their holdings every quarter, offering insight into the rapid adoption of Bitcoin ETFs among institutional players.

Since their launch in January 2024, Bitcoin ETFs have steadily gained institutional interest. The State of Wisconsin’s Investment Board expanded its holdings to over 6 million shares of BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) by the end of the year.

Additionally, billionaire hedge fund manager Paul Tudor Jones almost doubled his stake in IBIT, increasing from 4.4 million to over 8 million shares. Meanwhile, Corvex Management, an investment firm founded by Keith Meister, disclosed a position exceeding 1 million IBIT shares as of December 31.

According to Eric Balchunas, senior ETF analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, IBIT now boasts 1,100 institutional holders, a record-breaking number for an ETF in its first year.

“Most new ETFs attract fewer than 10 institutional holders early on,” Balchunas observed, adding that the previous record for first-year institutional adoption of an ETF was likely around 350 investors.