Institutional Adoption (13F filings)
ETF Tracker Update: Institutional Data
Dear Bitcoiners,
As Bitcoin consolidates around the $2 trillion market cap, we’re witnessing the increasing evidence of institutional and nation-state adoption. The Bitcoin Strategy ETF Tracker just got even more powerful with its latest addition, now providing the most comprehensive insights, tracking all key charts and data related to institutional adoption of Bitcoin. In this newsletter, I’ll walk you through the latest data!
Institutional Adoption is Here
As discussed many times before at Bitcoin Strategy, the ETF approval opened the gateway for institutional adoption of Bitcoin. Of course, we’d prefer institutions to self-custody their Bitcoin, but just like retail investors, institutions new to Bitcoin naturally start with custodial solutions. As their portfolio value increases, they’ll have an increasing incentive to explore better (multi-sig) custody setups or, ideally, have these services provided by their ETF issuers.
The institutional insights from the ETF Tracker are conservative estimates based on SEC Form 13F filings. These filings only include institutional investment managers with >$100M Assets Under Management (AUM), meaning these numbers exclude smaller funds, private institutions, and other entities not required to report.
Yesterday, the latest institutional numbers came in for Q4 2024! Institutions with >$100M AUM are required to report within 45 days after each quarter, meaning February 14, 2025, was the deadline for Q4 filings.
Institutional Holdings: The Latest Insights!
The chart above shows institutional Bitcoin holdings since the ETF approval. Institutions now hold over 300,000 BTC, nearly double their holdings from Q3 2024!
The light-green holdings (marked 'Awaiting') mainly represent Q1 2025 and are still subject to change. They will increase automatically as more institutions add to their positions and new 13F filings come in.
In just one year, institutions have acquired over 300,000 BTC, nearly twice Bitcoin’s total new supply issuance for the same period. Digital scarcity is materializing.
Institutions vs. Retail
Currently, institutional holdings account for nearly one-third of total U.S. Bitcoin ETF holdings. While retail still dominates, the 28% institutional share remains a conservative estimate and is steadily rising.
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Early Institutional Adoption
By comparison, (Micro)Strategy holds nearly 500,000 BTC, substantially more than all institutional ETF holders combined.
As I explained in last week’s What Bitcoin Did podcast, institutions are only starting to dip their toes, and the data proves it.
Now, let’s dive into the latest data and see which major institutions are stepping in, while you’re already ahead of the curve.
Top 25 Institutional Bitcoin ETF Holders
Below is the list of the top 25 largest institutional Bitcoin ETF holders. All green-highlighted rows represent first-time investors, making the top 25 due to their substantial initial positions.