Here's how hedge funds played spot Bitcoin ETFs in Q2

Four times a year, institutional investment managers with at least $100 million in equity assets under management file 13F reports with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The filings, which are required within 45 days of the end of each quarter, provide a view of the manager's stock holdings, although they do not disclose any short positions.

13Fs can be a way to get a glimpse into how the largest portfolios and some of the most influential money managers play the market. Back in May, Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan said spot bitcoin ETF allocations revealed in 13Fs — the first quarter those ETFs were eligible — are just a “down payment.”

"Beginning about six months after the initial allocation, many firms begin allocating across their entire book of clients, with allocations ranging from 1-5% of the portfolio," Hougan wrote in a note to clients at the time. "The great promise of bitcoin ETFs is that they can open the door for professional investors to buy bitcoin en masse, dramatically increasing the pool of capital investing in the asset."

In terms of multinational banking giants, Goldman Sachs owned about 7 million shares of spot Bitcoin ETFs (worth $418 million) while Morgan Stanley held more than 5.5 million shares ($190 million) as of the end of the second quarter. Also, high-frequency trading firm DRW Holdings disclosed it now holds at least $195 million worth of shares across six crypto exchange-traded funds.

All told, investment managers held $4.7 billion worth of spot Bitcoin ETFs in the second quarter. Here's a look at how some of the most prominent hedge funds bought, sold or held these funds.

Bitcoin ETF and hedge fund breakdown

In the first quarter, Millennium Management held a combined $1.94 billion in shares of five spot bitcoin ETFs. As of June 30, that number dropped to $1.1 billion. It holds 371,321 shares of the iShares Bitcoin Trust (ticker: IBIT) from BlackRock worth $371 million, which makes it that fund's largest single shareholder. But its biggest position is 11.22 million shares of the Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (ticker: FBTC), a position worth $588 million.

Capula, which is one of Europe's top hedge funds, owned 7,419,208 shares in IBIT (worth $253 million) and 4,022,346 shares of FBTC (worth $211,012). Steve Cohen's Point72 held a new 1,668,578 share position in IBIT valued at $57 million and significantly cut its position in FBTC down to 57,192 shares worth $3 million. Apollo bought 750,000 shares of the Ark 21Shares Bitcoin ETF (ticker: AKRB) in the second quarter, worth $45 million.