Wisconsin’s Pension Fund Bails on Bitcoin ETFs—Just as Crypto Starts Heating Up Again
In a move that reeks of classic institutional timing, the State of Wisconsin Investment Board just liquidated its entire Bitcoin ETF position. Paper hands meet pension funds.
The $156 billion fund quietly dumped its spot Bitcoin ETF holdings this week—right as BTC flirts with $70K and Wall Street starts whispering ’new ATH incoming.’ No explanation given, but the paperwork doesn’t lie.
Funny how these pension managers always seem to sell the rips and buy the dips... in reverse. Maybe they’re waiting for the SEC’s next ’carefully considered’ crypto rulemaking delay before jumping back in.
Hedge funds and other institutional investors juggle BTC ETFs
Recent regulatory filings disclosed that many high-profile asset managers cut their stakes in spot Bitcoin ETFs as BTC saw a 12% decline in the first quarter of 2025. However, Bitwise Asset Manager CIO Matt Hougan said hedge funds seeking to profit from the spread between spot and futures prices could capture annualized yields in the region of 15%.
Millennium Management cut its IBIT holdings by 41% to 17.6 million shares and exited its position in the Invesco Galaxy Bitcoin ETF. Meanwhile, Jersey-based Brevan Howard trimmed its stake in the iShares ETF by 15.6%.
However, Millennium Management increased its stake in two ETFs, boosting its holdings of the ARK 21 Shares Bitcoin ETF and the Grayscale Bitcoin Mini Trust. Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala sovereign wealth fund also added to its holdings of IBIT shares, bringing its total position to 8,726,972 shares, valued at $408.5 million at the end of March and over $512 million at current prices.
“What we witnessed in the first quarter was the collapse of the premium that people were paying for bitcoin futures, which had set up a very lucrative basis trade … But that premium collapsed and reached its nadir around the end of March … So I’m not surprised to see hedge funds trim their holdings.”
–Matt Hougan, CIO at Bitwise
Brown University also made its first charge into crypto ETF ownership during the same quarter, acquiring a stake in IBIT worth $4.9 million.
Farside data reveals sharp swings in spot Bitcoin ETF netflows
Spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded a sharp FLOW reversal between May 13 and May 14. On May 13, the ETFs posted a net outflow of $91.4 million, the largest daily withdrawal since April 30. The losses were entirely driven by Fidelity’s FBTC, which recorded $91.4 million in redemptions with no offsetting inflows across other issuers.
However, the trend shifted on May 14 as spot Bitcoin ETFs brought in $319.5 million in net inflows. BlackRock’s IBIT led the day with $232.9 million of new capital, followed by Fidelity’s FBTC at $36.1 million and smaller positive contributions from Bitwise’s BITB, Ark’s ARKB, and Valkyrie’s BRRR. Grayscale’s GBTC also saw a modest inflow of $35.2 million, marking a notable break from its usual pattern of daily outflows.
The $319.5 million inflow on May 14 erased much of the negative impact from the previous session and kept the broader monthly flows mostly positive. It also marked one of the strongest daily performances in May so far.
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