Capula Management has said it has holdings of $500m in spot Bitcoin ETFs.
The firm said in a filing to the US’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), that it has $224.7m in iShares Bitcoin TR, $28.4m in iShares Bitcoin TR, and $211m in Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin. This means the firm holds a total of $464.1m in bitcoin. The bitcoin investments represent some of the larger holdings in the firm’s portfolio, along with Amazon and Invesco.
Multiple reports state that Capula Management is the fourth-largest hedge fund in Europe and the firm’s LinkedIn page says that it is “focused on innovative strategies that aim to exhibit low or negative correlation to traditional equity and fixed income markets”.
Despite its shaky reputation over the years, cryptocurrency remains part of the investment landscape. At the end of last month, Fidelity International listed a digital assets product in the UK, following the launch of the Fidelity Physical Bitcoin Exchange Traded Product on the London Stock Exchange.
The ETP aims to track the price movement of the world’s leading cryptocurrency. It is physically backed and has an ongojgn charges figures of 0.35%.
The launch follows the Financial Conduct Authority’s decision to allow exchanges to create a market segment for crypto asset-backed Exchange Traded Notes, which are only available to professional investors.
Meanwhile, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has recently been looking for feedback on whether the UCITS investment market should include cryptocurrencies. A few weeks ago, ESMA launched a consultation paper on draft guidelines around the offering to the public and admission of trading to crypto assets. The consultation closed yesterday (7 August) on whether to allow direct UCITs exposure to these assets.
As Patrick Hansen, senior director of Circle, posted on X (formerly Twitter): “ESMA is now asking for input on eligible assets for these UCITS funds in order to assess possible risk and benefits of UCITS gaining exposure to these assets. Amongst other asset classes, that ESMA is seeking feedback on the merits of allowing direct UCITS exposure to crypto assets.”
He added: “Needless to say, allowing a €12trn investment product market and thousands of UCITS funds to gain direct (even if small) exposure to crypto would be quite huge.”
