One of the largest retirement funds in the United States, the Wisconsin Investment Board (SWIB), purchased BlackRock’s IBIT and Grayscale’s GBTC in Q1 this year, with a total investment of $164 million. In response, David Krause, a finance professor at Marquette University, believes that there is great potential for future increases in investment.
Summary:
The fastest ever! BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF “IBIT” reaches a scale of £20 billion in just 137 days, with over 400 institutional investments.
Background:
Latest statistics: 937 large institutions invest over $11 billion in Bitcoin spot ETF! Daily trading volume reaches a 7-week high.
In the first quarter of this year, more than 900 large US institutions revealed their investments in Bitcoin spot ETF in the position reports submitted to the SEC. This includes the Wisconsin Investment Board (SWIB), which manages over $156 billion in assets and is rated as one of the most financially sound funds in the US. As of March 31, they have purchased shares of BlackRock’s IBIT and Grayscale’s GBTC worth a total of $164 million.
Financial Professor: SWIB’s Q1 investment is just a trial
Regarding the operations of this well-known retirement fund, David Krause, a finance professor at Marquette University in Milwaukee, expressed his surprise during an interview. He mentioned that this news has shocked the entire investment industry since large institutions, especially retirement funds, typically do not invest in recently launched ETFs like Bitcoin spot ETF. Moreover, the Wisconsin Investment Board has always been a leader in this field.
He stated:
Although SWIB’s investment in Bitcoin ETF accounts for only about 0.1% of its total asset management scale, Krause believes that this investment is just a trial. He expects SWIB to increase this amount and attract other institutions to enter the market. Krause believes that Bitcoin ETF can diversify investment portfolios, as it does not fluctuate synchronously with stocks and bonds, bringing good diversification effects. Like all new technologies, it has high potential returns. In addition, since the supply of Bitcoin is limited, it can also serve as a tool to combat inflation.
937 large institutions invest over $11 billion in Bitcoin spot ETF
According to US SEC regulations, asset management institutions with stock assets exceeding $100 million must submit their Q1 13F reports by May 15 to disclose their positions and provide information on the destination of funds. Therefore, we can know which institutions hold US Bitcoin spot ETF.
According to K33 Research’s statistics, as of the end of Q1, 937 asset management institutions have invested in US Bitcoin spot ETF, with a total position scale of $11.06 billion, accounting for 18.7% of the BTC ETF asset management scale.
Among various ETFs, GBTC is the most favored product by these institutions, with a value of $4.38 billion, followed by IBIT with $3.23 billion and FBTC with $2.1 billion.
On May 28, the scale of IBIT temporarily surpassed GBTC, becoming the largest Bitcoin spot ETF in the world with holdings of nearly $20 billion. In Q1 of this year, a total of 414 large institutions invested in IBIT. In addition, IBIT attracted $20 billion in funds within just 137 days, becoming the fastest-growing ETF in history.
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