Detailed analysis of institutional investors’ Bitcoin holdings: What signals do more than 8,000 13F documents reveal?

I pored over some 8,200 13F filings and, by my count, there were 1,573 institutions holding long positions in Bitcoin in the fourth quarter of 2024.

These institutions include banks, hedge funds, registered investment advisors (RIAs), family offices, endowments, pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, and other asset managers.

Here are some of my key findings:

Before we dive in, I want to explain what exactly a 13F file is.

What is a 13F file?

Every quarter, large investment firms (those with more than $100 million in assets under management) must file 13F filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), disclosing their holdings of U.S. stocks and stock-related assets such as ETFs, real estate investment trusts (REITs), options and convertible bonds.

It is important to know that 13F filings only include a company's long positions in U.S. equity-related assets. Therefore, 13F filings do not include assets such as bonds, real estate, commodities, precious metals, private equity investments (hedge funds, venture capital, etc.), futures, spot Bitcoin, cash, foreign stocks/currencies, and short positions. In other words, 13F filings do not fully reflect a company's overall investment portfolio. We cannot know the company's positions in other asset classes outside of U.S. equity-related assets, nor can we determine whether long positions are simply to hedge short positions elsewhere.

I mention this because I will be discussing the size of Bitcoin positions in these filings - but note that these data only reflect the companies' allocations to U.S. equity-related assets. In reality, assuming they are also investing in other asset classes, their actual Bitcoin positions may be smaller.

Case in point: the Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund recently disclosed its $IBIT (Bitcoin ETF) position — one of the most exciting 13F filings to date. Bitcoin is the fund’s second-largest position, with about $437 million in exposure. But here’s the kicker… the 13F filing only reports $20 billion in assets under management (AUM), while the fund’s actual total AUM is $302 billion. In other words, the 13F filing only accounts for about 6.6% of the fund’s total holdings. This makes sense, as the fund invests in a wide range of asset classes around the world, far beyond just U.S. stocks. So, in reality, Bitcoin only accounts for 0.1% of the fund’s total portfolio, not 2.1% — but even so, it’s still a major positive development.

With that in mind, the median Bitcoin position for all institutions in these 13F filings is just 0.13%. Tiny… but positive. This suggests Bitcoin is still in the early stages of institutional adoption. One thing to note: BlackRock recently recommended a 1-2% allocation to Bitcoin.

But there are some investment firms that have a higher allocation to Bitcoin than their peers — and these firms happen to be managed by some top fund managers with outstanding performance.

Here are some of the most interesting 13F filings that caught my eye…

Some interesting findings

(1) Horizon Kinetics

Bitcoin is Horizon Kinetics’ second largest position (16.16%), with an exposure of approximately $1.3 billion. The company is managed by Murray Stahl, a prominent figure in the investment community. In their Q4 market review, they explained why they did not adjust their Bitcoin position.

(2) Bracebridge Capital

Its largest position is Bitcoin (23.6%), with an exposure of approximately $334 million. The company, led by Nancy Zimmerman, manages money for foundations, pension funds, high net worth individuals, and manages part of the assets of two of the best performing endowment funds of the past 20 years - Yale University and Princeton University.

(3) Tudor Investment Corp.

Tudor's largest position is Bitcoin (1.625%), with an exposure of about $436 million. The filing has attracted some attention, and for good reason. Paul Tudor Jones is one of the greatest investors of his generation. Last month, he talked about why he holds Bitcoin now.

(4) Fortress Investment Group

Bitcoin is its fourth largest position (11.2%), with an exposure of about $70 million. Note: Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund Mubadala acquired a 68% stake in Fortress last year, becoming its majority shareholder. So this is really just more exposure to Bitcoin by the UAE.

(5) Brevan Howard

Bitcoin is its second largest position (8.74%), with an exposure of about $1.4 billion. Brevan Howard has been long Bitcoin for many years. The large macro fund has a good idea of ​​holding assets. During the 2022 bear market, Bitcoin fell 50%, and billionaire Alan Howard expressed the following views.

(6) Discovery Capital

Management Bitcoin is its fifth largest position (4.6%), with an exposure of about $68 million. Discovery is led by Robert Citrone, who has worked with Julian Robertson and George Soros and is the second largest shareholder in the Pittsburgh Steelers. He explained why he is focusing on Bitcoin.

(7) Jericho Capital

Bitcoin is its fifth largest position (5.4%) with an exposure of about $378 million. Jericho, led by Josh Resnick, has done very well - growing from $36 million in 2009 to over $7 billion under management today. Guess who he worked with early in his career.

(8)Hudson Bay Capital Management

The company holds a 0.15% Bitcoin position, with an exposure of about $44 million. But what you may not know is that the notorious Bitcoin short Nouriel Roubini is a senior advisor to the company. Fortunately, they did not follow his advice on Bitcoin.

(9) Wisconsin Investment Commission

The big news is that the state pension fund’s Bitcoin position more than tripled from the previous quarter. Q2: $99 million, 2,898,051 shares (0.26%); Q3: $104 million, 2,889,251 shares (0.26%); Q4: $321 million, 6,060,351 shares (0.82%).

(10) Michigan Retirement System

But Wisconsin isn’t alone…Michigan’s pension fund also nearly doubled its Bitcoin position. Q2: $6.6 million, 110,000 shares (0.03%) Q3: $6.9 million, 110,000 shares (0.03%) Q4: $9.3 million, 100,000 shares (0.05%) It’s still small, but it’s growing.

(11) Emory University

Its second largest position is Bitcoin (32.3%), with an exposure of $22 million. The size of the endowment fund's Bitcoin position has not changed from the previous quarter, which means that although the Bitcoin position is currently up about 50%, it has not actively adjusted. Emory University has chosen to continue to hold.

(12) Pine Ridge Advisors

Its second largest position is Bitcoin (18.4%) with an exposure of $209 million. I don't know much about this company, but I mention it because it has a very concentrated allocation for a family office of this size. Here is their entire website, so you know they are legit.

(13) Capula Management

Bitcoin is its second-largest position (5.4%), with an exposure of about $936 million. The fourth-largest hedge fund in Europe is led by Yan Huo, former head of fixed income trading at JPMorgan. Their focus? Innovative, uncorrelated strategies. No wonder they are long Bitcoin.

(14) Cresset Asset Management

This is one of the largest and highest ranked independent RIAs in the US, with Bitcoin being one of its top 30 positions. Cresset has been increasing its Bitcoin position size every quarter. Q2: $33.7 million (0.14%); Q3: $53.9 million (0.21%); Q4: $107.5 million (0.51%).

(15) Other companies and banks

You may have noticed that there are some major companies with large Bitcoin ETF positions that I haven’t mentioned yet. They are:

• Millennium ($2.6 billion, 1.28%)

• Jane Street ($2.4 billion, 0.52%)

• Susquehanna ($1 billion, 0.16%)

• DE Shaw ($869 million, 0.64%)

• Citadel ($446 million, 0.08%)

• Point72 ($155 million, 0.34%)

This is because these are primarily quant funds and market making firms. Their algorithms don't care if the ticker is IBIT, META, GE, SPY, or TLT - they are just looking for arbitrage opportunities and market inefficiencies. As such, these are not long term holders, and I suspect many hold a net neutral Bitcoin position, which makes their exposure less interesting to me. That being said, I do appreciate that they trade in this market. They make the market more efficient by narrowing spreads, deepening order books, and adding liquidity.

The same is true for some of the big banks that hold positions in Bitcoin ETFs:

• JPMorgan Chase ($964,000, 0.0001%)

• Goldman Sachs ($2.3 billion, 0.37%)

• Wells Fargo ($375,000, 0.0001%)

• Bank of America ($24 million, 0.002%)

• Morgan Stanley ($259 million, 0.02%)

Companies such as JPMorgan Chase are authorized participants (APs) for many Bitcoin ETFs and act as market makers. It is completely normal for APs to hold some ETF shares on their balance sheets, as they are responsible for creating and redeeming ETF shares. Market makers also need to maintain an inventory of ETF shares to facilitate trading. By holding ETF shares, they can better keep the market liquid and efficient and maintain accurate pricing of the ETF.

Aside from these approved “crypto-asset activities,” the Fed currently prohibits banks from holding Bitcoin on their balance sheets for their own funds.

Regulation is changing

However, with the repeal of SAB-121, the regulatory environment is changing.

Morgan Stanley stands out - it became the first major bank to allow financial advisors to recommend a Bitcoin ETF to clients last August. Goldman Sachs has also been active, offering Bitcoin exposure to wealthy clients through its asset management division for years. But if its trading desk has exposure, I'd guess it's probably running market-neutral arbitrage strategies like basis trades - meaning it's not net long Bitcoin.

It will be interesting to see how these big banks adjust their positions and expand their Bitcoin involvement in the coming quarters as banking regulation evolves. It will be worth keeping a close eye on.

What signals does the 13F file reveal?

In summary, these 13F filings show that Bitcoin is becoming an institutional-grade asset. It is now large enough and liquid enough to accommodate these investors. As new investment vehicles enter the market, these companies will have more ways to gain exposure to Bitcoin, and adoption will accelerate.

I’ve covered some of the pioneers in this article, but we’re still very early in this trend—which means there’s a huge opportunity ahead. Institutional investors managing trillions of dollars are still just dipping their toes in this market.

According to my research: Of the 8,190 13F filings last quarter, only about 19% of companies had long Bitcoin exposure.

As more institutions enter — or already have entered — and increase their allocations — the inflows could push Bitcoin to new heights and change its investor base forever.