iShares Bitcoin Trust (NASDAQ: IBIT)
Hedge Fund Billionaires Are Buying — and They Might Be Early
When some of the biggest hedge fund managers in the world start quietly building positions in the same trade, it’s worth paying attention. During the second quarter, a handful of billionaire-led funds — including those run by Israel Englander, Tom Steyer, Philippe Laffont, and Steven Schonfeld — all bought shares of the iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), BlackRock’s spot Bitcoin ETF.
For context, this isn’t a speculative coin play. It’s a regulated, exchange-traded vehicle designed to track the spot price of Bitcoin directly — and it’s already become one of the most successful ETF launches in history. BlackRock’s entry into the crypto market has helped bring institutional legitimacy to Bitcoin in a way we haven’t seen before.
Bitcoin’s story is evolving from fringe asset to macro instrument. A capped supply of 21 million coins continues to make it a natural hedge against inflation — a theme that could strengthen further as global trade tensions and tariffs threaten to push prices higher. The recent regulatory shift under the Trump administration has also opened the door wider, with pro-crypto policies and SEC leadership changes encouraging more institutions to participate.
Institutional adoption, in fact, might be the most powerful tailwind. In just one quarter, the number of large asset managers holding spot Bitcoin ETFs more than doubled — and the total dollar value of those positions grew fivefold. If even a fraction of the world’s $130 trillion in institutional assets flows into this market, the impact on Bitcoin’s price could be staggering.
Analysts at Ark Invest, AllianceBernstein, and Fundstrat have made long-term projections ranging anywhere from $710,000 to $3 million per Bitcoin, but investors don’t need to think in those terms to see the opportunity. What matters most is that demand for regulated, accessible Bitcoin exposure is accelerating — and IBIT offers the most direct, scalable way to participate.
The billionaires are already buying. For the rest of us, this may be the moment to follow their lead — before the next wave of institutional money hits.
