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Financial Giant Accelerates Bitcoin ETF Trading With $22 Million Allocated
IMC Chicago, a major trading firm with $169 billion in assets under management, has revealed substantial increases in its Bitcoin ETF holdings for the second quarter of the fiscal year. The firm’s latest 13F filings highlight a strategic shift towards Bitcoin funds by Ark 21Shares and Grayscale. However, the catch here is that the firm is not a HODLer since the market maker is prone to adopting various trading strategies.
IMC Chicago Bitcoin ETF Holdings
According to the SEC’s latest 13F filing, IMC Chicago has significantly increased its exposure to various Bitcoin ETFs. Notably, its holdings in Ark 21Shares’ ARKB Bitcoin ETF increased from $1 million to $13.41 million. This underscores a bullish stance on this particular investment vehicle, at least in the short term.
Similarly, investments in Bitwise’s BITB ETF saw an increase of $1.92 million, bringing IMC Chicago’s total allocation to the fund to $20.54 million. Additionally, the firm also concluded Shades of greyGBTC with a new investment of $5.37 million, marking a notable addition missing from its first quarter filing.
Conversely, IMC Chicago reduced its positions in some ETFs. It reduced its holdings in the Invesco Galaxy Bitcoin ETF by $572,868 and completely sold $9.71 million from VanEck’s HODL ETF. Fidelity’s FBTC also saw a decline, with IMC Chicago reducing its allocation by $8.21 million, now holding $2.52 million in the fund.
Overall, IMC Chicago’s total investment in BTC ETFs reached $52.83 million in the second quarter, up from $48.37 million in the previous quarter. This increase not only reflects a growing institutional appetite for exposure to cryptocurrencies.
The implications of such trading strategies, which are more focused on short-term gains rather than long-term holding (“HODLing”), could have several effects on the Bitcoin ETF market. Increased trading activity from financial giants like IMC Chicago could potentially increase liquidity and market depth for these ETFs. However, there is also the risk of increased volatility, as short-term trading strategies can amplify price fluctuations and market swings.
Read also : Bitcoin ETF Inflows Push Total Assets Under Management to New Record Above $16 Billion
Capital flows into ETFs exceed $300 million
On Monday, July 15, Spot Bitcoin ETFs in the United States saw a historic surge in investor interest, with total net inflows reaching $301 million. This marked the seventh consecutive day of positive flows amid significant institutional inflows revealed in 13F filings. Black rockArk’s IBIT ETF and Ark 21Shares’ ARKB ETF each attracted net inflows of $117.2 million. Additionally, Fidelity’s FBTC saw a notable inflow of $36.1 million, highlighting the growing confidence in cryptocurrency investments.
The total assets under management (AUM) of the nine US Spot BTC ETFs have surpassed $16.1 billion, a significant milestone since their inception. BlackRock, which drove this growth, has become a dominant player in the market, contributing substantially to the increase in AUM.
Sharp rise in capital flows follows decisive endorsement from BlackRock CEO Larry Finkwho highlighted Bitcoin’s evolving role in investment portfolios. In a recent interview, Fink said, “I’m a firm believer that Bitcoin has a role to play in portfolios. I think you’re going to see it as one of the asset classes that we’re all looking at. I think of it as digital gold, as I’ve said before.”
Read also : Ethereum set to outperform Bitcoin after Spot Ether ETF launch: Kaiko