Wall Street increased its Bitcoin exposure in the second quarter, adding positions as well as spot Bitcoin exchange sales funds (ETF) Also, new filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission say that US stocks are closely tied to cryptocurrency prices. (seconds).

Brevan Howard almost doubles BlackRock’s position on iShares Bitcoin Trust (go) According to the securities application, in the second quarter. The macro-focused hedge fund held 37.9 million shares at the end of June, at the end of March, with approximately 21.5 million shares in March.

The shares are worth more than $2.6 billion based on IBit’s closing price on June 28th, and Brevan Howard became one of IBIT’s biggest institutional owners, increasing its position to $3.3 billion in Ibit and Fidelity’s wise origin Bitcoin Trust. (FBTC). The banking giant also owned an iShares Ethereum Trust worth $489 million (Eta)according to the submission.

Ownership of Goldman’s ETF is not a direct bet by the trading desk at the price of Bitcoin. Rather, it is more likely to represent the position held by Goldman Sachs Asset Management on behalf of the client.

However, Brevan Howard, best known for his macro trading, has been active in the Crypto space for a long time, running a dedicated digital asset division called BH Digital. The unit manages billions of assets and invests in blockchain infrastructure, decentralized finance and related technologies.

Harvard, Wells Fargo, etc.

Other major IBIT investors include Harvard University, which reported $1.9 billion in ETF shares, and Abu Dhabi’s Mubadara Investment Company, which continues to hold $681 million.

When it comes to US banks, Wells Fargo almost quadrupled its IBIT holdings to $160 million from $26 million in the last quarter, maintaining a $200,000 stake in the grayscale Bitcoin fund. (GBTC).

Canter Fitzgerald also increased its holdings to more than $250 million, increasing its shares in crypto-related stocks, including its strategy. (MSTR)Coinbase (coin) And Robin Hood (Food)especially.

Trading company Jane Street has revealed that it holds $1.46 billion in stake in IBIT. (TSLA) $1.4 billion. We increased our MSTR stake while reducing our FBTC holdings.

Spotting Bitcoin ETFs like IBIT, which launched in January, allows investors to get in touch with the price of Bitcoin without directly holding cryptocurrency. Its structure provides traditional institutions with the means to participate in the crypto market through familiar securities and custody arrangements.

Norway buys more

For some overseas entities, it is easier to be exposed to Bitcoin through US listed companies that have a large amount of BTC on their balance sheets.

This is an approach that Norwegian sovereign wealth funds are being tackled with investors backed by several other European states, choosing to stocks in crypto adjacent companies rather than directly retaining the crypto.

Norges Bank Investment Management (nbim)According to a new memo from the K33 survey, the entities that manage the investment sector of the Norwegian Central Bank and the country’s $2 trillion pension funds currently hold 7,161 BTC indirectly. That figure is up 192% from 2,446 BTC a year ago and 87% from 3,821 BTC held at the end of 2024.

The biggest part of the exposure, 3,005 BTC, comes through strategic stocks. The rest spreads to companies like Marathon Digital, Coinbase, Block and Metaplanet. K33 also counted GME (GameStop) And some small holdings that contribute to the total.

Still, exposure remains small in context. Norwegian funds own stocks in thousands of companies across the global market, and the value of their Bitcoin-related investments is only a small fraction of their total holdings. At its current market price of $117,502 per BTC, the fund’s 7,161 BTC is approximately $841 million, or less than 0.05% of its $2 trillion portfolio.

The sudden increase over the past year could indicate an increased institutional amenity with the asset class, but that is not a major strategic change.

Brevan Howard became the largest institutional shareholder of BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) by increasing its holdings by 71% between the first and second quarters of 2025.

According to a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of its latest 13F form, the hedge fund now holds approximately 37.5 million IBIT shares valued at roughly $2.3 billion as of June 30, up from 21.9 million shares in the first quarter.

Additionally, Brevan Howard has a $25 million exposure to Bitcoin put calls through 400,000 shares of IBIT. The London-based firm’s dollar-denominated holdings grew from both the share increase and Bitcoin’s (BTC) price appreciation during the period. 

Bitcoin surged from its March closing of $82,511.47 to a June closing of $107,168.23. This price movement amplified the value of Brevan Howard’s expanded position. 

Brevan Howard previously ranked as the second-largest IBIT investor, trailing Goldman Sachs, which held over $1.4 billion worth of IBIT shares as of March. 

The accumulation in the second quarter vaulted Brevan Howard past Goldman Sachs to claim the top position among institutional holders.

The hedge fund also added exposure to BlackRock’s iShares Ethereum Trust (ETHA) during the last quarter.

Crypto dive

Brevan Howard formed BH Digital in September 2021 to provide digital asset exposure across investing and business operations in public and private markets. 

The dedicated crypto division has delivered strong performance, with BH Digital returning 34.5% in the first quarter of 2024 while managing around $1.7 billion in assets.

Brevan Howard raised more than $1 billion for its flagship crypto vehicle, representing the largest crypto hedge fund launch ever. 

The firm’s dual approach combines direct crypto investments through BH Digital with exchange-traded funds (ETFs) holdings in traditional portfolios.

IBIT has attracted substantial institutional interest since launching in January 2024, with over $91 billion in assets under management, according to Bold Report data.

Furthermore, Farside Investors’ data revealed that IBIT accumulated $58.5 billion in positive net flows since launch, dwarfing the second-largest spot Bitcoin ETF by nearly five times.

Brevan Howard’s Bitcoin ETF accumulation reflects broader institutional adoption of crypto through regulated investment products. 

The firm’s substantial IBIT position demonstrates how traditional asset managers are incorporating digital assets into institutional portfolios while maintaining operational efficiency through ETF structures.

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