Institutional investors add 388,000 ETH to portfolio in Q2 via Ethereum ETFs

Institutional investors increased their exposure to spot Ethereum exchange-traded funds (ETFs) by more than 388,000 ETH in the second quarter. Among this class, investment advisors are now the biggest holders of Ethereum ETFs by a large margin.

Bloomberg analyst  James Seyffart disclosed this on X, noting that advisors now have almost double the exposure to ETH ETFs that hedge funds now have.

According to Seyffart, investment advisors now hold 539,757 ETH through their exposure to Ethereum ETFs, translating into $1.351 billion in value. In the second quarter alone, they added 219,668 ETH.

This was more than any other category of investors added within that period, with hedge funds coming second by adding 140,287 ETH in the same period. Following the hedge funds’ increase in exposure, they now hold a combined 274,758 ETH worth $687.94 billion.

Meanwhile, brokerage firms and private equity came in third and fourth in terms of ETH ETF holdings, with the two holding 101,058 ETH ($253 million) and 24,857 ETH ($62.24 million), respectively. Completing the top five were holding companies with 24,238 ETH exposure worth $60.688 million.

Interestingly, all the top five ETH ETF holders increased their exposure during Q2, but it was not the same for all the categories. For instance, the data also shows that trusts, pension funds, and banks reduced their ETH ETF exposure during that period, with the three selling a combined 3,116 ETH.

The dominance of investment advisors with Ethereum ETFs is similar to Bitcoin ETFs, where they hold 161,909 Bitcoins valued at over $17 billion as of the end of Q2. However, Seyffart noted that the 13F data does not provide a snapshot into which category of investor is holding Ethereum and Bitcoin ETFs.

He acknowledged that it does not necessarily provide the full picture, as the data is based on 13F filings of these firms with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). He explained that 13F data only accounts for around 25% of all Bitcoin ETF shares, while 75% is owned by those who do not file with the SEC. Seyffart explained that this group is mostly made up of retail traders.

Goldman Sachs leads the institutional acquisition of Ethereum ETFs

Meanwhile, a breakdown of the 13F filings by institutions shows that Goldman Sachs is the leading holder of Ethereum ETFs. According to its filing, the bank currently holds 288,294 ETH worth $721.8 million. This was after a massive accumulation of 160,072 ETH through the ETFs during Q2.

Other firms with sizable exposure also included Jane Street with 76,044 ($190.4 million), Millennium Management with 74,677 ETH ($186.96 million), and Capula Management with 58,841 ETH ($147.32 million). So far, every other firm with disclosures has below $100 million worth of ETH exposure.

However, several new firms gained exposure to Ethereum ETFs in Q2. These include Logan Stone Capital with $38 million worth of ETH ETF shares, BlueCrest Capital Management with $28 million, and Almitas Capital and Clear Street.

Interestingly, many market observers believe that the data from the 13F filings are already old because they ended in June, whereas Ethereum ETFs only started seeing massive inflows in Q3, with the products recording an all-time high in net flows and trading volume over the past two months.

ETH retests $4,600 as Standard Chartered calls asset undervalued

The increasing exposure from Wall Street firms highlights how ETH is rapidly becoming a darling for institutional investors. This is likely due to its recent performance, which has seen the token rise by more than 75% in value over the past few weeks.

While it has seen brief price corrections over that period, ETH looks set to solidify itself above $4,600 after testing that level multiple times over the past month. It is currently up by around 1% to trade $4,604 according to CoinMarketCap, and all signs suggest it could rise further in value.

This is likely the reason behind the strongly positive sentiments around the asset, as evidenced by a recent note by Standard Chartered analysts that ETH and the Ethereum treasury companies are currently undervalued. The bank’s Geoffrey Kendrick believes that ETH could still finish the year at $7,500 and projects that the asset could be worth $25,000 by 2028.

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