Key Takeaways
- • Nine hedge funds and banks, including Millennium Management, Brevan Howard, Goldman Sachs, Capula Management, Farallon Capital, D.E. Shaw, Schonfeld Strategic Advisors, Symmetry Investments and Tudor Investment, cut about 68,000 BTC of spot Bitcoin ETF exposure between September 2025 and June 2026, according to Galaxy Research.
- • Galaxy attributes the selling to a fading cash-and-carry trade rather than bearish bets against Bitcoin, as the basis that funds the trade compressed to 4.8% annualized, only 0.6 percentage points above three-month Treasury bills.
- • Aggregate 13F-reported holdings fell 14% to 307,000 BTC, while roughly 2,200 other filers added about 20,000 BTC.
- • Morgan Stanley's wealth management arm, Mubadala and the Abu Dhabi Investment Council were among buyers, and funds have added 87,000 BTC since the June low.
Summary
Nine hedge funds and banks cut about 68,000 BTC of spot Bitcoin ETF exposure between September 2025 and June 2026, according to Galaxy Research, as reported by Decrypt. The sellers were Millennium Management, Brevan Howard, Goldman Sachs, Capula Management, Farallon Capital, D.E. Shaw, Schonfeld Strategic Advisors, Symmetry Investments and Tudor Investment. Galaxy said the reductions reflected a fading cash-and-carry trade rather than bets against Bitcoin.
The cash-and-carry strategy involves buying spot ETF shares while shorting CME futures to capture the basis between the two. That basis averaged 4.8% annualized in the 30 days to October 21, only 0.6 percentage points above three-month Treasury bills. Alex Thorn, Galaxy's head of firmwide research, wrote: "That arithmetic, not the price, is why the multi-strategy desks left." The thinner spread left little excess return over risk-free rates, making the trade less attractive to multi-strategy managers.
Holdings reported by 13F filers fell 14% to 307,000 BTC over the period, while roughly 2,200 other filers added about 20,000 BTC. Morgan Stanley's wealth management arm, Mubadala and the Abu Dhabi Investment Council were among the buyers. Galaxy described the subsequent accumulation, with funds adding 87,000 BTC since the June low, as directional buying.
The cash-and-carry strategy involves buying spot ETF shares while shorting CME futures to capture the basis between the two. That basis averaged 4.8% annualized in the 30 days to October 21, only 0.6 percentage points above three-month Treasury bills. Alex Thorn, Galaxy's head of firmwide research, wrote: "That arithmetic, not the price, is why the multi-strategy desks left." The thinner spread left little excess return over risk-free rates, making the trade less attractive to multi-strategy managers.
Holdings reported by 13F filers fell 14% to 307,000 BTC over the period, while roughly 2,200 other filers added about 20,000 BTC. Morgan Stanley's wealth management arm, Mubadala and the Abu Dhabi Investment Council were among the buyers. Galaxy described the subsequent accumulation, with funds adding 87,000 BTC since the June low, as directional buying.
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