New filings submitted to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) show that Wall Street has ramped up investment in Bitcoin in Q2, not only through spot Bitcoin ETFs but also through U.S. stocks closely tied to the value of this cryptocurrency.
Brevan Howard and major institutions lead the way
Hedge fund Brevan Howard has almost doubled its holdings in BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) to 37.9 million shares at the end of June, up from 21.5 million in March. The value of this investment exceeds $2.6 billion, making Brevan Howard one of the largest IBIT holders, alongside Goldman Sachs and Fidelity.
Goldman Sachs increased its holdings in IBIT and Wise Origin Bitcoin Trust (FBTC) to a total of $3.3 billion, while also owning $489 million in the iShares Ethereum Trust (ETHA). However, most of these positions are believed to be managed by Goldman Sachs Asset Management on behalf of clients, rather than direct bets from the trading desk.
Meanwhile, Brevan Howard, known for its macro strategy, has been active in the crypto space for years through its BH Digital unit – managing billions of dollars invested in blockchain infrastructure, DeFi, and related technologies.
Harvard, Wells Fargo, Cantor Fitzgerald, and other major investors
Harvard University reports owning $1.9 billion in IBIT, while the national investment fund Mubadala (Abu Dhabi) still holds $681 million.
Wells Fargo nearly quadrupled its IBIT holdings from $26 million to $160 million, while maintaining $200,000 in the Grayscale Bitcoin Fund (GBTC). Cantor Fitzgerald also increased its capital in IBIT to over $250 million, while boosting its stakes in crypto companies like MicroStrategy (MSTR), Coinbase (COIN), and Robinhood (HOOD).
Notably, Jane Street disclosed a holding of $1.46 billion in IBIT, making it the largest investment in their portfolio, second only to Tesla ($1.41 billion). The company also increased its position in MSTR but reduced its stake in FBTC.
Spot Bitcoin ETFs like IBIT, launched in January, allow traditional institutions to gain exposure to Bitcoin without holding it directly, through familiar brokerage accounts and custodial mechanisms.
Norwegian pension fund increases indirect holdings
Several European sovereign funds, including Norway, choose to invest indirectly in Bitcoin through shares of companies holding BTC rather than buying directly.
Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM), the manager of Norway's $2 trillion pension fund, currently indirectly owns 7,161 BTC, according to K33 Research. This figure is up 192% from 2,446 BTC last year and up 87% from the end of 2024.
Most of this indirect BTC amount comes from Strategy shares (3,005 BTC), while the remainder is allocated to Marathon Digital, Coinbase, Block, Metaplanet, and even GameStop.
However, this scale is still very small compared to NBIM's overall portfolio. With the current Bitcoin price around $117,502, the fund's 7,161 BTC is equivalent to $841 million, accounting for less than 0.05% of total assets.
The strong increase over the past year shows that institutions are becoming more comfortable with this asset class, though it cannot yet be considered a major strategic shift.