Professional investors cut their Bitcoin (BTC) holdings by roughly 52,500 coins in the first quarter, the sharpest drop since U.S. spot exchange-traded funds began trading.

Key Points:

  • Professional investors trimmed Bitcoin holdings 17% in the first quarter, the biggest decline since spot ETFs launched.

  • Hedge funds and brokerages drove about 95% of the selling, while banks and governments kept adding.

  • Veteran analyst Bob Loukas now sees a possible drop toward $53,000 before the cycle finds a bottom.

Bitcoin Holdings Slide 17% in Q1

A report from CoinShares, based on quarterly 13F filings, showed professional holdings fell from 313,000 to 261,000 coins in the first quarter. The combined value of those positions dropped 35% to $17.8 billion as prices weakened. Their share of all U.S. spot Bitcoin ETF assets slipped from 24.7% to 20.8%.

Hedge funds and brokerages accounted for roughly 95% of the reduction, shedding 31,400 and 18,800 coins. Morgan Stanley exited an 8,300-coin position, a move analysts tied to the April launch of its own fund. Jane Street, a trading firm, cut another 10,800 coins amid weaker flows.

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Banks Add Bitcoin Through Selloff

The retreat was far from uniform. Banks more than doubled their exposure, as JPMorgan Chase added 3,000 coins, Wells Fargo picked up 4,000, and Citigroup filed for the first time. Governments and private equity firms leaned in too, with Abu Dhabi's Mubadala fund lifting sovereign holdings by about 1,100 coins.

CoinShares analyst Matt Kimmell compared the pattern to past downturns, when tactical traders sell into weakness while long-term holders absorb supply. Advisers, the largest professional cohort, mostly held through the slide. The figures point to a rotation in ownership, not a broad institutional exit.

Loukas Eyes $53,000 Bitcoin

Veteran analyst Bob Loukas said Bitcoin has entered the final stage of its four-year cycle, but warned the market may need another leg lower first. His model portfolio made its first purchase in three and a half years. It bought 10 coins near $65,000.

He flagged $53,000 as the level where he would move fully back into Bitcoin, calling it the midpoint of the cycle. The odds of an earlier bottom, he said, sit near 25%.

Bitcoin traded near $62,000 on Friday, down about 20% since mid-May and roughly 50% below its October peak above $126,000. The slide has run alongside a record streak of outflows from U.S. spot ETFs and a rotation toward AI stocks.

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