Wisconsin state boosts BlackRock's Bitcoin ETF shares, exits Grayscale Trust

The board's investment marks the second consecutive quarter of substantial holdings in spot Bitcoin ETFs.

BlackRock overtakes Grayscale as largest crypto fund manager

Key Takeaways

  • The State of Wisconsin increased its IBIT shares by 447,651 as of June 30.
  • SWIB sold all its shares in GBTC, where it previously held 1,013,000 shares.

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The State of Wisconsin Investment Board (SWIB) added 447,651 shares of BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) to its investment portfolio, bringing the total holdings to 2,898,051 as of June 30, as disclosed in a recent SEC filing. The filing also showed that SWIB completely exited its position in the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC).

SWIB previously held 1,013,000 shares of GBTC, which charges an annual management fee of 1.5%. Before increasing its stake in IBIT, the board already held over $99 million worth of IBIT, equivalent to 2,450,500 shares.

According to Fintel data, Millennium Management is the largest holder of the IBIT fund, followed by Capula Management and Goldman Sachs.

Earlier today, Goldman Sachs disclosed its holdings of over $400 million in US spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), including around $238 in IBIT, $79.5 million in Fidelity’s Bitcoin fund (FBTC), and $35 million in GBTC.

Since its January debut, IBIT has attracted over $20 billion in net inflows. It is the fastest-growing spot Bitcoin fund and one of the most successful ETFs on record. As of August 13, the fund’s assets under management were valued at over $21 billion.

In addition to IBIT, SWIB has invested in other crypto-related assets, reportedly holding shares of Coinbase, Marathon Digital, Robinhood, and Block Inc.

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