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Brevan Howard Reveals $2.32 Billion Stake in BlackRock’s Spot Bitcoin ETF

Brevan Howard becomes the largest institutional holder of BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF, signaling rising institutional appetite for direct digital asset exposure.

Fact Check
The statement is strongly supported by a high degree of corroboration across multiple independent sources. Numerous outlets (Intellectia.ai, Coinspeaker, CryptoSlate, Coingape, TodayOnChain) report a figure of either $2.3 billion or the more precise $2.32 billion. Several sources specify that this information was disclosed in an official 13F regulatory filing, lending significant credibility to the claim.
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Summary

Brevan Howard disclosed owning about 37.5 million shares of BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) valued at roughly $2.3 billion as of June 30, according to an SEC filing. This marks a sharp increase from 21.5 million shares in Q1, making it the largest institutional IBIT holder, surpassing Goldman Sachs. The hedge fund’s crypto-focused division, BH Digital, manages billions in blockchain-related investments. Other major holders include Symmetry Investments, Capula Management, and Mubadala Investment, while Harvard Management entered the top 20 with a $1.9 billion stake. IBIT remains the market leader among Bitcoin ETFs with $88 billion in assets under management.

Terms & Concepts
  • Spot Bitcoin ETF: An exchange-traded fund that directly holds Bitcoin, allowing investors to gain exposure to its market price without owning the cryptocurrency themselves.
  • BlackRock’s Spot Bitcoin ETF: A Bitcoin exchange-traded fund managed by BlackRock that holds actual Bitcoin rather than derivatives, offering direct price exposure.
  • iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT): BlackRock’s spot Bitcoin ETF product, designed to provide investors with direct exposure to Bitcoin’s price through a regulated fund structure.