Bracebridge Capital, a Boston-based hedge fund managing roughly $12 billion in assets, has revealed a significant investment in spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) totaling $363 million across three funds.
According to a recent analysis from Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas, Bracebridge Capital has added exposure to the flagship cryptocurrency Bitcoin via the ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF (ARKB), BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), and the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust ETF (GBTC).
The new high water mark (ex APs/market makers) for bitcoin ETF holdings has arrived. Boston-based Bracebridge Capital has reported owning $262m of $ARKB. It's also the biggest owner of $IBIT too with $81m in that ETF. They also own $20m of $GBTC. They went wild basically. pic.twitter.com/RzdpwE2D0k
— Eric Balchunas (@EricBalchunas) May 13, 2024
Notably, Bracebridge is known for managing endowment funds for prestigious institutions like Yale and Princeton Universities. The move highlights growing institutional interest in Bitcoin after the launch of spot Bitcoin ETFs in the United States, with major financial institutions investing in these.
The disclosure comes amid several others, with the U.S. state of Wisconsin recently becoming the first local government entity to reveal an investment in Bitcoin after purchasing 94,562 shares of BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), worth nearly $100 million, in the first quarter of the year.
The move sees the state of Wisconsin join several Wall Street giants, including JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo, in revealing BTC exposure through investment in spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds, according to 13F filings.
JPMorgan revealed an investment of $731,246 in BlackRock’s IBIT ETF, Bitwise’s BITB, Fidelity’s FBTC, and Grayscale’s GBTC, while Wells Fargo disclosed $141,817 in GBTC holdings. BNP Paribas and BNY Mellon have also made similar disclosures.
BNP Paribas, the second-largest bank in Europe whose asset management arm has over $600 billion in assets under management, has gained exposure to the flagship cryptocurrency Bitcoin in the first quarter of the year as well by purchasing shares of IBIT.
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