We have just wrapped up another 13F filing season, a critical window for transparency in the investment world. For those unfamiliar with the process, every major investment advisor with over $100 million in covered securities must file a quarterly ownership report—the Form 13F—within 45 days of the quarter’s end.
Because ETFs are listed securities, they are covered in these filings, allowing us to glean significant data regarding who actually owns these products. With digital assets continuing to dominate financial headlines, we dove into the data to answer a burning question: Who actually holds these Crypto ETFs?
The State of the Crypto ETF Market
Before analyzing ownership, it is important to frame the current size of the market. As of this filing season, the digital asset space commands roughly $144 billion in AUM spread across various sub-categories:
- Bitcoin: ~$19 billion across 17 products.
- Ethereum: ~$1.5 billion across 12 products.
- Altcoins & Multi-coin: A growing category including Solana, XRP, and diversified baskets.
While the total assets are impressive, the ownership structure reveals a different story than the broader ETF market.
The Reality Check: Institutional vs. Retail
There is often significant buzz on social media regarding institutional adoption of crypto, with headlines frequently citing purchases by major names like Harvard or large pension funds. While true, the data provides a necessary reality check.
In the broader US-listed ETF market, roughly 60% of ownership can be traced back to institutional 13F filers. However, in the crypto ETF space, that figure is significantly lower.
- Institutional Ownership (13F): ~25% ($38 billion)
- Retail/Unknown Ownership: ~75%
This indicates that despite the headlines, the vast majority of crypto ETF volume and assets are still driven by retail investors or smaller advisors not required to file 13Fs.
Who Are the Big Players?
When we peel back the layers of that 25% institutional stake, the ownership is heavily concentrated in specific types of firms:
- Hedge Funds & Prop Trading Desks: The largest holders tend to be liquidity providers and active traders. Firms like Goldman Sachs (Trading Desk), Millennium, Jane Street, and Brevin Howard top the lists. This suggests a lot of the “institutional” money is facilitating market making rather than long-term buy-and-hold strategies.
- Sovereign Wealth: We are seeing interesting activity from global players, such as Al Warraq (Abu Dhabi).
- Investment Advisors: This segment is growing, with net purchasing of roughly 16 million shares in products like IBIT last quarter. However, compared to standard equity ETFs (like IVV or VOO) where Investment Advisors are usually the dominant holders, their footprint in crypto remains small (approx. 6.7%).
Key Takeaway
The 13F data confirms that while institutional interest is real and growing—with new names entering the space every quarter—crypto ETFs remain a predominantly retail-driven asset class. The “institutional wall of money” is building, but it hasn’t yet overtaken the retail enthusiasm that defines the sector.
For ETF Issuers
Are you looking to dig deeper into holder data? Contact Us to learn more about how our 13F data solutions can help you map ownership and trends for your products.
Disclosures
This material is for informational purposes only and should not be considered investment advice. All investments, including ETFs, involve risk, including the possible loss of principal. Investors should consider their investment objectives, risks, charges, and expenses carefully before investing.
This analysis was developed by the team at ETF Action. We leverage advanced AI tools to assist in the drafting and refinement of our content, based on our expert prompts, direction, and final review.
