Family offices and professional investors have assigned Spot Ethereum (ETH) and Bitcoin (BTC) Exchange-Traded Products (ETPs) differently, with family offices showing a relatively strong preference for Ethereum.
As of December 31, 2024, Family Offices and Trust allocates 0.62% of managed Spot Ethereum ETP assets (AUM) against just 0.13% of Spot Bitcoin ETP.
This represents almost five times higher Ethereum allocation share among this investor category, but does not translate to absolute values.
This difference highlights the diverse institutional forces between the two asset classes. While Bitcoin continues to dominate the overall AUM, including hedge funds and investment advisors, Ethereum has a greater relative appeal among small, flexible allocators such as family offices.
The broader ETP market composition also reflects these contrasts of investor profiles and risk appetite.
Hedge funds, advisors, securities companies
Hedge funds accounted for the largest share of Bitcoin ETP AUM at 36.97%, followed by 33.11% of investment advisors. The brokerage added an additional 14.91%, combining more than 85% of the total allocation, including small contributors such as banks and pension funds.
In contrast, Ethereum ETP ownership is more evenly distributed between brokerages (25.25%), investment advisors (29.79%) and hedge funds (24.74%), with a much larger “other” category, which accounts for 16.96% of Ethereum ETP AUM.
Banks and pension funds are reserved conservatively for both Bitcoin and Ethereum products. Bitcoin ETP holds 1.27% and 1.02% of AUM from banks and pension funds, respectively, while Ethereum ETP receives 0.62% and 0.90%.
Private equity companies have similarly shown limited involvement, allocating 2.90% to Bitcoin and 1.11% to Ethereum.
Despite their relatively leaning towards Ethereum among family offices, their total allocation remains a small part of the overall institutional activity. Venture capital and insurance companies report negligible exposures to either ETP class.
Institutional holders vary by assets
Top holders also vary between Bitcoin and Ethereum ETP. Bitcoin ETP Holdings $4.42 billion Millennium Management was first ranked on Bitcoin exposure, followed by Brevan Howard, Jane Street and Goldman Sachs.
In the Ethereum segment, Goldman Sachs leads at $477 million, with Jane Street leading at $450 million and Millennium Management leading at $182 million.
Some institutions such as Jane Street, DeShaw and Brevan Howard have appeared on both lists and demonstrated their extensive involvement with crypto ETP.
However, several companies, including Elequin, HBK Investments, SG Americas Securities and Almitas Capital, are represented only among Ethereum ETP top holders. Conversely, Capula Management and Horizon Kinetics hold Bitcoin ETP positions in materials, but do not appear to Ethereum’s best institutional owners.
The sector suggests that while large asset managers and market makers operate in both markets, Ethereum attracts a more distinct group of secondary institutions.
This breakdown confirms Bitcoin’s continued absolute domination, but also reveals a more diverse and diversified investor base in Ethereum’s ETP market.
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