Institutional Bitcoin Holdings Drop 17% in First Quarter as Hedge Funds, Brokers Retreat
Summary
- Institutional Bitcoin holdings fell from 313,000 BTC to 261,000 BTC in the first quarter, a 17%% decline.
- About 95%% of the reduction came from hedge funds and brokerage firms, whose holdings fell 39%% and 53%%, respectively.
- By contrast, the banking sector increased Bitcoin holdings, led by JPMorgan, Wells Fargo, and Citigroup, as it expanded market participation from a longer-term perspective.
Forecast Trend Report by Period
Institutional investors sharply reduced their Bitcoin holdings in the first quarter.
CoinShares said on June 5 that its analysis of 13F filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission showed professional investors' Bitcoin holdings fell to 261,000 BTC in the first quarter from 313,000 BTC in the fourth quarter of last year.
That was down about 17% from the previous quarter. Institutional investors cut a total of 52,500 BTC of exposure during the period.
Hedge funds and brokerage firms drove the decline. Those two investor groups accounted for about 95% of the total reduction.
Hedge fund Bitcoin holdings fell 39% from the prior quarter, while brokerage firm holdings dropped 53%.
Banks, by contrast, increased their Bitcoin exposure. Their combined holdings rose to 15,200 BTC, with JPMorgan and Wells Fargo expanding their Bitcoin-related positions.
Citigroup also disclosed Bitcoin holdings for the first time in the filing.
CoinShares wrote that hedge funds and brokers, which tend to have shorter-term investment horizons, reduced risk exposure as volatility in the crypto market increased. Traditional financial institutions, meanwhile, are expanding their participation in the Bitcoin market from a longer-term perspective.
Suehyeon Lee
shlee@bloomingbit.ioI'm reporter Suehyeon Lee, your Web3 Moderator.
