Q2 Bitcoin: Banks Buy, Hedge Funds Cut, Sovereigns Hold

Institutional holdings of US-listed spot Bitcoin ETFs rose 7.5% in the second quarter to the equivalent of 535,723 BTC even as the Bitcoin price fell 14.2%, according to SEC 13F filings compiled by Bitcoin Strategy. The number of institutional filers reporting Bitcoin exposure fell about 6.8%, from roughly 2,000 to around 1,900.

Bitcoin Strategy’s count put institutional ownership of ETF Bitcoin at 44.2% of the surveyed ETF assets. An alternative method produced a lower professional tally of roughly 261,000 BTC, equal to about 20.8% of US-traded spot ETF assets, reflecting different inclusion rules for filers and products.

Several large institutions increased reported ordinary-share IBIT positions. JPMorgan’s ordinary IBIT holdings rose 25.35% to 10,407,635 shares, with a quarter-end filing value near $356 million. Renaissance Technologies boosted its ordinary IBIT stake to 1,403,942 shares, a 312.92% rise valued at about $46.7 million at quarter end.

Major allocators reported little or no change in their IBIT counts. Mubadala Investment Company held 14,721,917 ordinary IBIT shares at quarter end. Harvard Management reported 3,044,612 shares unchanged, Fortress Investment Group 1,325,000 shares steady, and the Abu Dhabi Investment Council about 8,218,712 shares.

Other firms reduced ordinary IBIT holdings while reporting significant derivatives or market-making activity. Brevan Howard’s ordinary IBIT shares fell 70.36% to 7,205,004, while its filing listed call options tied to about 7.23 million underlying shares and put options tied to roughly 5.27 million. Citadel’s ordinary IBIT count dropped 59.66% to 514,614 shares and its filing listed calls tied to roughly 24.65 million underlying shares and puts tied to about 17.86 million.

Macquarie reported a 61.78% decline in ordinary IBIT shares to 1,581,934 and is registered as an authorized participant for the ETF. Jane Street’s reported ordinary IBIT position increased from 5,872,212 shares in Q1 to 24,878,191 shares in Q2, a level worth roughly $828 million at the quarter-end price. Jane Street is listed as an authorized participant and reported options tied to about 34 million calls and 34.8 million puts.

Authorized participants and market makers create and redeem ETF shares to keep fund share prices aligned with underlying assets. Filings show large ETF inventories and parallel options books at several firms; filings treat ETF shares the same way whether they sit with long-term allocators or trading desks.

The Q2 filings show higher institutional ETF counts driven by a smaller group of filers and mixed activity: some banks and quantitative trading firms increased ordinary-share holdings, several allocators reported unchanged positions, and some trading firms reported reduced ordinary shares alongside sizable options exposure or authorized-participant roles. Future quarter filings will contain updated figures for ordinary-share counts, derivatives exposure and the number of filers reporting Bitcoin positions.