KEY POINTS
- Hightower Advisors purchased millions in BlackRock, ARK, and Fidelity Bitcoin ETFs
- The asset manager invested the most into Grayscale's GBTC, which until recently was unpopular
- Bitwise's CEO projected that more wealth management firms will own BTC ETFs at the end of 2024
Asset management firm Hightower Advisors, which has over $100 billion in assets under management, Monday disclosed to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that it purchased around $68 million worth of spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) across various issuers.
In a 13F filing Monday, the Chicago-based asset management firm revealed that it invested in a total of six Bitcoin ETFs, including in Franklin Templeton's EZBC and Bitwise's BITB, buying 19,129 shares worth $788,000 and 25,449 shares worth $988,000 of the funds, respectively.
Hightower also bought 23,964 shares worth over $1.7 million of ARK-21Shares' ARKB, 188,397 shares worth over $7.6 million of BlackRock's top-playing IBIT, and 200,084 shares worth over $12.4 million of Fidelity's (FBTC).
Interestingly, the majority of Hightower's spot Bitcoin ETF purchases were on Grayscale's less-popular GBTC, which has seen nothing but outflows in the past 11 weeks. The unpopular Bitcoin ETF broke a 78-day outflow streak when it finally lodged a fresh $63 million inflow over the weekend. In total, Hightower bought 709,956 shares worth over $44.8 million of GBTC.
The asset manager's disclosure comes at a critical point in the nearly four-month journey of spot Bitcoin ETFs, as the financial realm watches whether the funds will retain a steady momentum or ultimately tank after a short run.
So far, most industry observers are bullish about the path the financial products are taking. Among the bullish digital asset experts is Hunter Horsley, CEO of Bitwise Investments, the world's largest cryptocurrency index fund manager. He predicted late last month that the public would be surprised "by how many wealth management firms own a Bitcoin ETF" at the end of the year. His prediction may be coming true as early as now, given Hightower's latest disclosure.
Horsley acknowledged that there will always be naysayers, as was the case when Bitcoin was first introduced to the traditional investment world by its pseudonymous creator/s Satoshi Nakamoto.
Outside the asset management sector, there is also increasing interest among traditional banks, as was proven when longtime crypto critic Goldman Sachs was named as an authorized participant in BlackRock's IBIT earlier last month.
It is worth noting that several Goldman executives have repeatedly said they cannot put value in the digital asset, particularly Sharman Mossavar-Rahmani, the investment banking behemoth's chief investment officer for its Wealth Management unit.
"If you cannot assign a value, then how can you be bullish or bearish?" she said, adding that Goldman customers have not shown interest in Bitcoin exposure. The latest turnaround may be a signal that some Goldman clients have found interest in the funds.
