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Brevan Howard, Goldman Sachs and Harvard Lead Billions in Bitcoin ETF Buying Spree

Wall Street ramped up its exposure to bitcoin in the second quarter, adding positions not only in spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) but also in U.S. stocks closely tied to the cryptocurrency’s price, according to new filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Brevan Howard nearly doubled its position in BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) during the second quarter, according to a securities filing. The macro-focused hedge fund held 37.9 million shares at the end of June, up from about 21.5 million in March.
The stake was worth more than $2.6 billion based on IBIT’s closing price on June 28, making Brevan Howard one of the largest reported institutional holders of IBIT alongside Goldman Sachs, which boosted its position to $3.3 billion in IBIT and Fidelity’s Wise Origin Bitcoin Trust (FBTC). The banking giant also held $489 million worth of the iShares Ethereum Trust (ETHA), according to a filing.
Goldman’s ownership of the ETFs isn’t necessarily a direct wager by its trading desk on bitcoin’s price; rather, it more likely represents positions held by Goldman Sachs Asset Management on behalf of its clients.
Brevan Howard, best known for macro trading, however, has long been active in the crypto space and operates a dedicated digital asset division called BH Digital. The unit manages billions in assets and invests in blockchain infrastructure, decentralized finance and related technologies.
Harvard, Wells Fargo and more
Other major IBIT investors include Harvard University, which reported a $1.9 billion stake in the ETF, and Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Investment Company, which continues to hold $681 million.
In terms of U.S. banks, Wells Fargo nearly quadrupled its holdings of IBIT to $160 million, up from $26 million in the previous quarter, while maintaining a $200,000 stake in the Grayscale Bitcoin Fund (GBTC).
Cantor Fitzgerald also boosted its holdings to over $250 million while also increasing stakes in crypto-related stocks, including Strategy (MSTR), Coinbase (COIN) and Robinhood (HOOD), among others.
Trading firm Jane Street revealed holding a $1.46 billion stake in IBIT, which represents the largest single position in its portfolio after Tesla (TSLA) at $1.41 billion. It increased its stake in MSTR while reducing its holdings of FBTC.
Spot bitcoin ETFs like IBIT, which launched in January, allow investors to gain exposure to bitcoin’s price without directly holding the cryptocurrency. That structure offers traditional institutions an avenue to participate in the crypto market through familiar brokerage accounts and custodial arrangements.
Norway buys more
For some overseas entities, gaining exposure to bitcoin is easier through U.S.-listed companies that hold large amounts of BTC on their balance sheets.
That’s the approach being taken by Norway’s sovereign wealth fund, along with several other European state-backed investors, which are opting for equity stakes in crypto-adjacent firms rather than holding the crypto directly.
Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM), the investment arm of the Norwegian central bank and the entity that manages the country’s $2 trillion pension fund, now indirectly holds 7,161 BTC, according to a new note from K33 Research. That figure is up 192% from 2,446 BTC a year ago, and up 87% from the 3,821 BTC it held at the end of 2024.
The largest portion of its exposure — 3,005 BTC — comes through shares in Strategy. The rest is spread across companies like Marathon Digital, Coinbase, Block, and Metaplanet. K33 also counted GME (GameStop) and several smaller holdings as contributing to the total.
Still, the exposure remains tiny in context. Norway’s fund owns stakes in thousands of companies across global markets, and the value of its bitcoin-linked investments is a fraction of its total holdings. At a current market price of $117,502 per BTC, the fund’s 7,161 BTC is worth around $841 million — or less than 0.05% of the $2 trillion portfolio.
The sharp increase over the past year may signal growing institutional comfort with the asset class, but it doesn’t represent a major strategic shift—yet.
Business
Strategy Bought $27M in Bitcoin at $123K Before Crypto Crash

Strategy (MSTR), the world’s largest corporate owner of bitcoin (BTC), appeared to miss out on capitalizing on last week’s market rout to purchase the dip in prices.
According to Monday’s press release, the firm bought 220 BTC at an average price of $123,561. The company used the proceeds of selling its various preferred stocks (STRF, STRK, STRD), raising $27.3 million.
That purchase price was well above the prices the largest crypto changed hands in the second half of the week. Bitcoin nosedived from above $123,000 on Thursday to as low as $103,000 on late Friday during one, if not the worst crypto flash crash on record, liquidating over $19 billion in leveraged positions.
That move occurred as Trump said to impose a 100% increase in tariffs against Chinese goods as a retaliation for tightening rare earth metal exports, reigniting fears of a trade war between the two world powers.
At its lowest point on Friday, BTC traded nearly 16% lower than the average of Strategy’s recent purchase price. Even during the swift rebound over the weekend, the firm could have bought tokens between $110,000 and $115,000, at a 7%-10% discount compared to what it paid for.
With the latest purchase, the firm brought its total holdings to 640,250 BTC, at an average acquisition price of $73,000 since starting its bitcoin treasury plan in 2020.
MSTR, the firm’s common stock, was up 2.5% on Monday.
Business
HBAR Rises Past Key Resistance After Explosive Decline

HBAR (Hedera Hashgraph) experienced pronounced volatility in the final hour of trading on Oct. 13, soaring from $0.187 to a peak of $0.191—a 2.14% intraday gain—before consolidating around $0.190.
The move was driven by a dramatic surge in trading activity, with a standout 15.65 million tokens exchanged at 13:31, signaling strong institutional participation. This decisive volume breakout propelled the asset beyond its prior resistance range of $0.190–$0.191, establishing a new technical footing amid bullish momentum.
The surge capped a broader 23-hour rally from Oct. 12 to 13, during which HBAR advanced roughly 9% within a $0.17–$0.19 bandwidth. This sustained upward trajectory was characterized by consistent volume inflows and a firm recovery from earlier lows near $0.17, underscoring robust market conviction. The asset’s ability to preserve support above $0.18 throughout the period reinforced confidence among traders eyeing continued bullish action.
Strong institutional engagement was evident as consecutive high-volume intervals extended through the breakout window, suggesting renewed accumulation and positioning for potential continuation. HBAR’s price structure now shows resilient support around $0.189–$0.190, signaling the possibility of further upside if momentum persists and broader market conditions remain favorable.
Technical Indicators Highlight Bullish Sentiment
- HBAR operated within a $0.017 bandwidth (9%) spanning $0.174 and $0.191 throughout the previous 23-hour period from 12 October 15:00 to 13 October 14:00.
- Substantial volume surges reaching 179.54 million and 182.77 million during 11:00 and 13:00 sessions on 13 October validated positive market sentiment.
- Critical resistance materialized at $0.190-$0.191 thresholds where price movements encountered persistent selling activity.
- The $0.183-$0.184 territory established dependable support through volume-supported bounces.
- Extraordinary volume explosion at 13:31 registering 15.65 million units signaled decisive breakout event.
- High-volume intervals surpassing 10 million units through 13:35 substantiated significant institutional engagement.
- Asset preserved support above $0.189 despite moderate profit-taking activity.
Disclaimer: Parts of this article were generated with the assistance from AI tools and reviewed by our editorial team to ensure accuracy and adherence to our standards. For more information, see CoinDesk’s full AI Policy.
Business
Crypto Markets Today: Bitcoin and Altcoins Recover After $500B Crash

The crypto market staged a recovery on Monday following the weekend’s $500 billion bloodbath that resulted in a $10 billion drop in open interest.
Bitcoin (BTC) rose by 1.4% while ether (ETH) outperformed with a 2.5% gain. Synthetix (SNX, meanwhile, stole the show with a 120% rally as traders anticipate «perpetual wars» between the decentralized trading venue and HyperLiquid.
Plasma (XPL) and aster (ASTER) both failed to benefit from Monday’s recovery, losing 4.2% and 2.5% respectively.
Derivatives Positioning
- The BTC futures market has stabilized after a volatile period. Open interest, which had dropped from $33 billion to $23 billion over the weekend, has now settled at around $26 billion. Similarly, the 3-month annualized basis has rebounded to the 6-7% range, after dipping to 4-5% over the weekend, indicating that the bullish sentiment has largely returned. However, funding rates remain a key area of divergence; while Bybit and Hyperliquid have settled around 10%, Binance’s rate is negative.
- The BTC options market is showing a renewed bullish lean. The 24-hour Put/Call Volume has shifted to be more in favor of calls, now at over 56%. Additionally, the 1-week 25 Delta Skew has risen to 2.5% after a period of flatness.
- These metrics indicate a market with increasing demand for bullish exposure and upside protection, reflecting a shift away from the recent «cautious neutrality.»
- Coinglass data shows $620 million in 24 hour liquidations, with a 34-66 split between longs and shorts. ETH ($218 million), BTC ($124 million) and SOL ($43 million) were the leaders in terms of notional liquidations. Binance liquidation heatmap indicates $116,620 as a core liquidation level to monitor, in case of a price rise.
Token Talk
By Oliver Knight
- The crypto market kicked off Monday with a rebound in the wake of a sharp weekend leverage flush. According to data from CoinMarketCap, the total crypto market cap climbed roughly 5.7% in the past 24 hours, with volume jumping about 26.8%, suggesting those liquidated at the weekend are repurchasing their positions.
- A total of $19 billion worth of derivatives positions were wiped out over the weekend with the vast majority being attributed to those holding long positions, in the past 24 hours, however, $626 billion was liquidated with $420 billion of that being on the short side, demonstrating a reversal in sentiment, according to CoinGlass.
- The recovery has been tentative so far; the dominance of Bitcoin remains elevated at about 58.45%, down modestly from recent highs, which implies altcoins may still lag as capital piles back into safer large-cap names.
- The big winner of Monday’s recovery was synthetix (SNX), which rose by more than 120% ahead of a crypto trading competition that will see it potentially start up «perpetual wars» with HyperLiquid.
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