RIAs Surpass Hedge Funds in Bitcoin ETF Holdings, Managing Over $10 Billion in BTC
New data from the latest 13F filings reveals a sharp increase in institutional interest in spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), with Registered Investment Advisors (RIAs) emerging as dominant players.
Eric Balchunas, Bloomberg's senior ETF analyst, highlighted that RIAs have now taken the lead among institutional holders of Bitcoin ETFs. Collectively, this group has exposure to over 124,000 BTC, amounting to over $10.2 billion in assets.
Bitcoin ETF institutional investors (Source: X/Balchunas)
This figure places them ahead of hedge funds, which represent nearly $7 billion in exposure to Bitcoin ETFs, and brokerages, which hold about $2.1 billion.
Industry insiders also point to a shift in how RIAs are marketing crypto to high-net-worth (HNW) clients.
William Bullion, former product head at Fidelity, highlighted a trend where savvy advisors are rebranding portfolio strategies as exclusive hedge funds.
These RIAs are placing Bitcoin and Ethereum into limited partnerships (LPs), then charging management fees in a "1 and 15" structure - that is, 1% of assets under management (AUM) plus 15 basis points of gains.
RIAs Surpass Hedge Funds in Bitcoin ETF Holdings, Managing Over $10 Billion in $BTC