KEY POINTS
- Capula’s disclosure came at a critical time in the crypto market as coins recover from Sunday night’s beating
- Some crypto users on X welcomed the news, while others were not so happy that another big player is in
- US spot Bitcoin ETFs have lodged negative flows for two consecutive days
The popularity of spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) has reached far and wide as a London-based investment management giant disclosed Monday it holds a staggering amount of BlackRock’s IBIT and Fidelity’s $FBTC.
Europe snaps up BlackRock, Fidelity ETFs
Capula Investment Management, known as Europe’s fourth-largest investment manager by assets under management (AUM), revealed in a filing that it holds some $211 million worth of $FBTC and around $253 million worth of the top $BTC ETF, IBIT.
The disclosure came at a crucial time in the crypto industry as digital assets plunged with global financial markets Sunday night, triggering a wave of liquidations among holders rocked by fear of a further downturn.
Capula joins growing list of institutional holders
Capula is now in the list of traditional financial institutions that hold Bitcoin ETFs. In May, a host of institutions revealed their spot $BTC ETF holdings, including Millennium Management, which unveiled a staggering $2 billion portfolio based on prices at the time.
Like Capula, Millennium also diversified its portfolio, investing some $844 million in $IBIT and some $806 million in Fidelity’s $FBTC among others. Even investment banking titan Morgan Stanley has its own Bitcoin ETF stash, amassing over 4.2 million shares of Grayscale’s $GBTC.
Crypto users react
The revelation was well-accepted by the crypto community even as others felt that big players such as Capula entering the picture during a crypto market downtrend only means institutions are snapping up what smaller holders are losing due to panic selling.
$30B in AUM and they bought $500M worth of BTC ETFs
This is huge
— Wise Advice (@wiseadvicesumit) August 5, 2024
Common man will never understand why they are common man, bcoz big players know how to play!!
— Manas Nayak (@cryptobaba1000) August 5, 2024
This development will undoubtedly have a significant impact on BTC and the entire cryptocurrency market
— Bella (@AvaDavisa7) August 5, 2024
One user pointed out that it appears “only retail is selling” at this point, while another said the disclosure will only nudge other global hedge funds to also reveal their Bitcoin ETF holdings, as was the case with American investment managers that unveiled their portfolios one by one during the 13F filing season.
Bitcoin ETFs continue bleeding
Meanwhile, U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs continue to bleed amid the days-long crypto downtrend. Data from Farside Investors showed that the funds saw net outflows of $168.4 million Monday – a day after Bitcoin plummeted to $49,000 from $58,000 earlier in the day.
On Friday, the ETFs saw a staggering $237.4 million in outflows amid weak U.S. jobs data, fears around the Japanese yen’s downtrend, and geopolitical risks that could affect financial markets.
With $BTC, Ethereum, and other cryptocurrencies starting to recover as of early Tuesday, it remains to be seen how the Bitcoin ETF circle will perform amid the ongoing financial markets volatility.