The latest "battle situation" of encryption ETFs: 12 institutions spent 15.8 billion US dollars, BlackRock attracted more than 90% of its money, and many ETFs fell behind

Written by: Nancy, PANews

As the prices of Bitcoin and Ethereum continue to rise, Wall Street is accelerating its grasp of the pricing power of crypto assets through crypto ETFs, becoming an important indicator for insight into price trends and market sentiment. The institutional financial reports for the just-concluded second quarter show that the strong inflow of institutional funds has promoted the expansion of the scale of crypto ETFs, while also exacerbating the differentiation of the market structure. In particular, BlackRock's products have become the core allocation choice for new funds, while the performance of ETFs from other institutions is relatively sluggish.

Capital flows of spot ETFs are clearly divided, with BlackRock taking the lead in large inflows

In the second quarter of this year, U.S. Bitcoin and Ethereum spot ETFs performed strongly overall, but capital inflows were highly concentrated, and the performance of long-tail ETFs was relatively lackluster.

According to SoSoValue data, 12 related ETFs recorded a total net inflow of $12.8 billion in the quarter, with an average monthly inflow of about $4.267 billion, but the capital inflow was almost dominated by one company.

BlackRock's IBIT attracted $12.45 billion in the quarter, accounting for almost 96.8% of the total net inflow of the entire market, with its stock price rising 23.1% during the same period. In contrast, the performance of other institutions was lackluster. Among them, Fidelity's FBTC recorded a net inflow of about $490 million, with its stock price rising by about 23.15%; Grayscale's mini BTC inflow exceeded $330 million, with its stock price rising by 22.9% during the period; Bitwise's BITB inflow exceeded $160 million, with its stock price rising by 23% during the period; VanEck's HODL had a net inflow of less than $150 million, with its stock price rising by about 23.1%; the remaining 7 products (such as Grayscale's GBTC, Ark Investment's ARKB, etc.) generally had net outflows.

Ethereum spot ETFs also performed well. According to SoSoValue data, 9 Ethereum spot ETFs had a cumulative net inflow of more than $1.79 billion in the quarter, with an average monthly inflow of more than $590 million.

Among them, BlackRock's ETHA was still the main recipient of funds, with a net inflow of nearly $1.45 billion, and its stock price rose by 11.5% during the period; Fidelity's FETH attracted a net inflow of more than $250 million, with its stock price rising by 34.6%; Grayscale's mini ETH had a net inflow of more than $160 million, and its stock price also achieved a 34.7% increase; Bitwise's ETHW had a net inflow of about $33.27 million, with its stock price rising by 36.37% during the period; VanEck's ETHV received $5.81 million in capital inflow, with its stock price rising by 34.76%; Grayscale's ETHE had a net outflow of more than $130 million, with its stock price rising by 34.26% in the quarter; Franklin's EZET had a net inflow of about $6.32 million, with its stock price rising by about 34.61%; 21Shares' CETH had an inflow of $8.14 million, with its stock price rising by 34.63%; Invesco's QETH had a net inflow of $3.37 million, with its stock price rising by about 33.6%.

The total holdings of 12 companies reached $15.8 billion, and BlackRock's products became the preferred heavy positions

PANews sorted out the Bitcoin/Ethereum spot ETF holdings of 12 listed companies in Q2. These institutions generally increased their allocation to Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs in the quarter, with cumulative holdings of about $15.8 billion, accounting for about one-tenth of the market value of all Bitcoin ETFs. At the same time, they strengthened risk management and income optimization through call/put options.

Among them, in terms of Bitcoin spot ETFs, IBIT and FBTC are the key targets for institutional layout. Most institutions such as Goldman Sachs, Jane Street, Susquehanna International, and Millennium Management significantly increased their holdings; while ARKB saw explosive increases in holdings in some institutions, such as Susquehanna International and Schonfeld Strategic Advisors. In terms of Ethereum ETFs, ETHA became the preferred target of various institutions. Goldman Sachs, Millennium Management, Capula Management, etc. all significantly increased their positions in the second quarter. FETH was also increased by many institutions, but the scale and growth rate were relatively smaller than those of ETHA, and most of the remaining Ethereum ETFs "fell behind".

Goldman Sachs: Spot holdings exceed $2.7 billion, ETHA increased by 283%

As of the second quarter of 2025, Goldman Sachs increased its investment in crypto ETFs, with its spot holdings exceeding $2.7 billion, especially the significant increase in Ethereum-related products. Specifically, Goldman Sachs slightly increased its position in IBIT in this quarter, with the holding scale exceeding $1.568 billion, and held IBIT call and put options worth more than $1.25 billion; at the same time, the institution also increased its holdings of FBTC, with the holding value exceeding $430 million, and reduced the corresponding put options.

In terms of Ethereum spot ETFs, Goldman Sachs significantly increased its position in ETHA, with the number of shares held increasing by 283% month-on-month, the market value of holdings exceeding $474 million, and newly added call options worth more than $14.3 million; in addition, it also slightly increased its holdings of about 1.95 million shares of FETH, with the holding value reaching $246 million.

Brevan Howard: Spot holdings close to $2.3 billion, significantly increasing holdings of IBIT

Brevan Howard is one of the world's largest macro hedge funds. As of Q2 2025, Brevan Howard held more than 37.5 million shares of BlackRock's IBIT (worth about $2.296 billion), an increase of more than 15.9 million shares from the first quarter, a growth rate of 74%. At the same time, Brevan Howard also added $400,000 worth of IBIT put options in this quarter to hedge potential risks. Moreover, the institution also newly held more than 43,000 shares of BlackRock's ETHA in the second quarter, worth about $806,000.

Jane Street: Mainly increasing holdings of IBIT and ETHA, with both spot and option layouts

In the second quarter of 2025, Jane Street, a world-renowned quantitative trading company, significantly increased its spot allocation to multiple Bitcoin/Ethereum spot ETFs, with an overall holding scale exceeding $2.2 billion, and strengthened income and risk management through volatility trading and hedging, but the holding scale was centered on BlackRock's ETF products.

In terms of Bitcoin spot ETFs, in this quarter, Jane Street held 23.967 million shares of IBIT (worth about $1.467 billion), with the number of shares held increasing by 268% compared to Q1, and at the same time significantly increased the exposure to IBIT call and put options, with the total value of related option holdings rising to $1.78 billion; it held 11.43 million shares of ARKB (worth about $409 million), a month-on-month increase of 128%, and simultaneously significantly expanded ARKB call and put options; it held 1.02 million shares of GBTC (worth about $86.55 million), a month-on-month increase of 219%, and held about $24 million of related call and put options; the holding value of BITO exceeded $53.74 million, with the number of shares increasing by 232% compared to Q1; it newly held 190,000 shares of BITB, worth about $11.6 million. In contrast, Jane Street slightly reduced its holdings of Grayscale's mini BTC and significantly reduced its holdings of DEFI.

In terms of Ethereum spot ETFs, the value of ETHA held by Jane Street in the second quarter exceeded $130 million, an increase of more than 3.78 million shares from the first quarter, and newly added related call and put options worth more than $42 million; the holding scale of FETH reached $47.37 million, a month-on-month increase of 36%. In addition, the holding scales of ETHE, ETH, EZET, and QETH are all around millions of dollars, while ETHW and CETH were significantly reduced or even liquidated.

Susquehanna International Group: Heavily holding IBIT and FBTC, aggressively building positions in Ethereum ETFs

As of the second quarter of 2025, the value of Bitcoin/Ethereum spot ETFs held by Susquehanna International Group was close to $1.5 billion, and it increased the scale of options to manage volatility risks.

Among them, Susquehanna International held IBIT worth more than $680 million, as well as call options worth up to $1.56 billion and put options worth $750 million; the holding scale of FBTC exceeded $310 million, and it also allocated call and put options close to $950 million; the holding scale of ARKB increased to $357 million, with the number of shares held surging 4565% month-on-month, making it the most significant target for increasing holdings; the number of BITB shares held also increased 1093% month-on-month, with a holding value of about $100 million; it also held Grayscale's GBTC and BTC worth thousands of dollars, and BTCW and HODL worth millions of dollars.

In terms of Ethereum spot ETFs, Susquehanna International held ETHA worth $17.9 million and newly added call and put options worth more than $84 million; the number of Grayscale's ETH shares held increased by 588% month-on-month, with a holding scale of about $23.27 million. In addition, the institution also expanded and newly added spot and option positions for products such as FETH, FETH, and ETHW, with most values being millions of dollars.

Horizon Kinetics Asset Management: Bitcoin ETFs as core allocation, position changes not obvious

The value of crypto ETF positions of Horizon Kinetics Asset Management exceeded $1.43 billion, with Bitcoin ETFs as the main allocation. In the second quarter, Horizon Kinetics slightly reduced its holdings of GBTC, with the holding scale still exceeding $1.23 billion, and held Grayscale's BTC worth $146 million, with the number of shares held unchanged from the previous quarter; at the same time, the holding scale of IBIT expanded to $58.88 million, with the number of shares held increasing by about 11% month-on-month; there were no obvious changes in HODL and FBTC positions, with asset values being hundreds of thousands of dollars. In addition, the institution also held a small amount of Grayscale's ETHE and ETH.

Schonfeld Strategic Advisors: Total holdings exceed $1.1 billion, significantly increasing holdings of ARKB

Schonfeld Strategic Advisors, a multi-strategy hedge fund management company, continued to increase its holdings of Bitcoin and Ethereum-related funds in the second quarter, with a total holding value of about $1.12 billion.

In terms of Bitcoin spot ETFs, Schonfeld Strategic Advisors held FBTC worth more than $437 million, with the number of shares held increasing slightly month-on-month; the holding scale of IBIT increased to about $347 million, and newly added call options worth $1.53 million; the number of ARKB shares held surged 1228% month-on-month, with a holding value close to $120 million; the holding value of BITB expanded to $113 million, and it held about $530,000 of GBTC.

At the same time, the institution increased its holdings of about 1.68 million shares of ETHA in this quarter, with a holding value of $84.45 million; newly built a position of 500,000 shares of ETHW, worth about $9.03 million; the number of FETH shares held remained the same as the previous quarter, with a value of about $4.04 million.

Avenir Group: IBIT holdings exceed $1 billion, ranking first among Asian institutional investors

Avenir Group is a family office founded by Li Lin. As of the second quarter of this year, Avenir Group held more than $1.01 billion of IBIT, with the number of shares held increasing by 12% month-on-month, ranking first among Asian institutional investors, and newly added call options worth about $12.2 million; the holding scale of FBTC was about $5.51 million.

Millennium Management: IBIT accounts for more than half, increasing allocation to Ethereum ETFs

As of the second quarter of 2025, Millennium Management, a global alternative investment management company, held crypto ETFs worth more than $940 million, mainly Bitcoin spot ETFs.

Among them, Millennium Management held IBiT worth more than $488 million, with the number of shares held increasing by 22% compared to Q1, and also held call and put options worth more than $28 million; the number of FBTC shares held changed little from the previous quarter, with an asset value of $160 million; BITB was slightly reduced, with a holding value close to $45.3 million; ARKB held about $38 million, with the number of shares held increasing by 207% month-on-month; the holding values of Grayscale's BTC and GBTC were close to $30 million and $1.96 million respectively.

In terms of Ethereum spot ETFs, Millennium Management newly held more than 5.8 million shares of ETHA in Q2, worth more than $110 million; the number of Grayscale's ETH shares held also increased by 103% month-on-month, with a holding value of $58.85 million; FETH was also significantly increased, with a holding value of about $10.52 million; the ETHW position remained unchanged from the previous quarter, with the asset value rising to about $2.6 million.

Capula Management: Total holdings exceed $800 million, with IBIT accounting for the majority

Capula Management is one of the largest hedge fund management companies in Europe, holding Bitcoin/Ethereum spot ETFs worth more than $868 million in the second quarter. Among them, Capula Management held more than 9.48 million shares of IBIT (worth about $580 million), a month-on-month increase of 23%. At the same time, the institution held FBTC worth about $140 million, but it dropped significantly by 65% compared to the holdings in Q1.

In terms of Ethereum spot ETFs, Capula Management expanded the relevant allocation scale in this quarter, among which ETHA holdings surged 196% to 5.35 million shares, worth more than $100 million; while FETH holdings slightly increased to about $45.21 million.

Symmetry Investments: Only holding more than $680 million of IBIT, slightly increasing positions in the second quarter

Symmetry Investments is a Hong Kong-based hedge fund company focusing on fixed income arbitrage and global macro strategies. In the second quarter of 2025, Symmetry Investments increased its holdings of IBIT by about 4% compared to the previous quarter, with the number of shares held exceeding 11.23 million, corresponding to a value of more than $688 million.

Mubadala Investment: Maintaining unchanged holdings of IBIT

Mubadala Investment is a sovereign investment institution with global assets under management exceeding $330 billion. The fund held more than 8.72 million shares of IBIT in Q2, unchanged from the number of shares held in the previous quarter. However, due to the rise in IBIT's stock price, the value of its holdings increased to about $534 million.

Sculptor Capital: Total holdings exceed $500 million, significantly increasing holdings of IBIT

Sculptor Capital, a global alternative asset management company, held Bitcoin spot ETFs worth more than $500 million in Q2. Specifically, the institution significantly increased its holdings of IBIT in this quarter, with the number of shares held increasing by 60% month-on-month, and the holding value exceeding $270 million. At the same time, the institution also held FBTC and BITB worth more than $200 million and $21.52 million respectively, with the number of shares held unchanged from the first quarter.

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