Investment Advisors drove the institution’s Bitcoin (BTC) exposure to $33.6 billion in the second quarter of 2025 via Exchange Trade Funds (ETFs).
Data shared by Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyfert on August 25 revealed that the agency added 57,375 BTC to all tracked categories.
Advisors currently hold a $17.4 billion Bitcoin ETF position, nearly double the hedge fund manager’s $9 billion exposure, according to Bloomberg Intelligence data.
Brevan Howard Capital Management has emerged as the largest institutional Bitcoin ETF shareholder of the new investors. As of June 30, Fund Managers had increased BlackRock Islands Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) Holdings by 71% to $2.3 billion.
Harvard Management Company joined the Bitcoin ETF space at IBIT for a $117 million position. Harvard’s Bitcoin allocation is ranked alongside the largest US holdings, including Microsoft at $310 million and $310 million and Amazon, which accounts for around 8% of its reported portfolio.
The university’s fund is currently valued at around $102 million in the quarter-end position, holding more Bitcoin than gold in the dollar.
Increases in all categories
Seyffart also highlighted that the advisor has become the “much largest holder” of the Spot Bitcoin ETF. They added 37,156 BTC in the second quarter, reaching 161,909 BTC.
He said “almost every category” had an increase in 15 listed in the second quarter, with the exception of the pension fund, which maintains a $15 million position.
The allocation of brokerages via Bitcoin ETF reached $4.3 billion after being the second largest addition amongst institutions at 13,911 BTC. The bank has registered the third largest allocation of 2,476 BTC and currently has around $655 million in Bitcoin through ETF shares.
The $17.4 billion allocation of investment advisors shows a shift towards specialized asset management integration beyond holdings of combinations of hedge funds, brokerages and holding companies.
Seyffart said the $33.6 billion allocated by institutional investors is related to 13F form filing, accounting for only 25% of Bitcoin ETF shares.
He added:
“The other 75% are owned primarily by non-filers who become retailers.”
Despite the growing institutional appetite, retail seems to still have most of the Bitcoin ETFs flowing.