A man walks past a bitcoin poster in Hong Kong on April 15, 2024
A man walks past a bitcoin poster in Hong Kong on April 15, 2024. AFP

KEY POINTS

  • Bloomberg's Balchunas said the development was "mind boggling"
  • A prominent Bitcoin trader said the news only shows how "big money wants exposure" to the asset
  • The latest company to have gained attention was Millennium Management, which has a $2 billion Bitcoin ETF portfolio

Investment management titan BlackRock's spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) IBIT has had a stellar run during its first jump into the financial industry's 13F season, garnering 414 holders who disclosed their IBIT shares holdings.

The cryptocurrency industry didn't miss the development as experts and observers noted its significance to a Bitcoin subsector that has seen its fair share of skeptics and bearish sentiments due to the digital currency's volatility.

Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas called the development "mind boggling" as it "blows away the record" in terms of the most number of holders among spot BTC ETF issuers that received approval from the U.S. Securities and Exchange (SEC) in January.

In the chart presented by Balchunas, Fidelity's FBTC follows suit, but not close enough. FBTC logged over 200 holders, while Bitwise's BITB had some 100 holders, and ARK 21 Shares' ARKB recorded less than a hundred holders.

Crypto enthusiasts and observers have reacted positively to the news, with one user on X (formerly Twitter) calling IBIT's 13F figures an "unprecedented success for a newborn ETF."

Stock analyst @cryptopatel noted that gaining even just 20 holders as a new ETF "is a significant milestone," while another finance watcher said the "strong institutional embrace underscores growing confidence in Bitcoin as a viable investment."

A prominent BTC trader, who goes by Mr. Anderson, said the IBIT's first quarter 2024 performance in terms of holders only suggests "big money wants exposure to Bitcoin."

Institutional investment managers who control more than $100 million in assets are required to report their equity holdings to the SEC, which is accomplished through a 13F filing.

The latest of such investment-related companies whose Bitcoin ETF holdings took the attention of the crypto space is Millennium Management, which Balchunas previously dubbed as the "king of Bitcoin ETF holders." The New York-based firm's 13F filing revealed it holds nearly $2 billion worth of BTC ETFs from different issuers.

Millennium's biggest buy, as with several other holders, was with BlackRock's IBIT – some $844 million worth of shares having been purchased in the first quarter of the year.

Probably the biggest news in the spot Bitcoin ETF circle was the disclosure of the State of Wisconsin Investment Board (SWIB), which revealed earlier this week that it purchased nearly $100 million of BlackRock's IBIT in Q1 2024.

SWIB manages Wisconsin's pension fund, and its entry into the Bitcoin subsector space is deemed "very meaningful" for some in the crypto industry as it strengthens the narrative that traditional financial institutions, not only retailers, are interested in the potential of the world's first largest digital asset by market cap.

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