Institutional investors now hold 20% of US-traded spot Bitcoin ETFs

Institutional investors now hold approximately 20% of all US-traded spot Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded funds (ETFs), according to recent data.

CryptoQuant CEO and founder Ki Young Ju revealed that the latest 13F Form filings show that institutional investors hold over 193,000 BTC via Bitcoin ETFs as of Oct. 18.

He also revealed that roughly 1,179 institutions have invested in US-traded spot Bitcoin ETFs. The list includes $70 billion asset manager Millennium Management, $438 billion trading firm Jane Street, and $2.93 trillion investment bank Goldman Sachs.

IBIT leads in absolute amount

In absolute numbers, BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT) has the most Bitcoins held by institutions, with over 71,000 BTC. However, its institutional adoption percentage of 18.38% is below average.

Grayscale’s GBTC registered 44,707.89 BTC held by institutional investors, the second-largest amount, with 20.25% of its shareholders being institutional investors.

Meanwhile, ARK 21Shares’ ARKB had the highest institutional participation, with 32.8% of its shares owned by asset managers, equating to roughly 17,166 BTC.

The ETF with the least institutional participation is Grayscale's Bitcoin Mini Trust, with just 1.52% of its shares held by these investors, while CoinShares Valkyrie ETF (BRRR) shows the smallest absolute amount in Bitcoins, with 451.26 BTC bought by institutions through the product.

The third-largest ETF, Fidelity’s FBTC, is also the third option sought by institutional investors, with 44,623.23 BTC held by institutional investors, which make up 24.14% of its holders.

Bitcoin ETF and price correlation

A recent VanEck report highlighted a stronger correlation between Bitcoin ETF flows and the cryptocurrency's price in recent months, driven largely by increasing institutional adoption.

Spot Bitcoin ETFs traded in the US broke the $21 billion threshold in year-to-date flows on Oct. 18, according to Farside Investors data.

According to VanEck surge in institutional interest may explain Bitcoin’s 11% price increase in October, reaching $67,478. The asset manager suggests that growing demand from institutions could continue to fuel Bitcoin’s upward momentum in the near future.