Over 50% of U.S. hedge funds have exposure to Bitcoin as BTC crushes stocks in 2024

Over half of the top U.S. hedge funds have disclosed exposure to newly launched Bitcoin ( BTC ) exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in a year, as BTC/USD has significantly outperformed major stocks and indexes.

One hedge fund has 2.5% of its portfolio in Bitcoin

Data from investment firm River reveals that 13 out of the top 25 U.S. hedge funds own Bitcoin ETFs by the end of Q1 2024. Notable among these is Millennium Management, which had 27,263 worth $1.69 billion, making up about 2.5% of its total assets under management worth $67.70 billion.

Other significant players include Schonfeld Strategic Advisors, with 6,734 BTC, and Point72 Asset Management, with 1,089 BTC. In contrast, some top hedge funds, such as Bridgewater Associates, AQR Capital Management, and Balyasny Asset Management, have yet to invest in Bitcoin ETFs.

Interestingly, Bitcoin's growing acceptance coincides with a rise in the cash reserves across U.S. companies. Notably, the cash or cash equivalents held by corporates reached a record high of $4.11 trillion in Q1 2024, according to an analysis by treasury advisory firm Carfang Group.

Some—if not most—of these companies, namely Reddit , Semler Scientific , JPMorgan , Wells Fargo , and others, have allocated a small portion of their cash reserves to Bitcoin or Bitcoin ETFs.

This trend indicates that U.S. firms, including hedge funds and corporates, have become more confident in treating Bitcoin as a viable asset for diversification and hedging against traditional market risks.

Bitcoin outperforming Apple, Tesla stocks in 2024

Wall Street's interest in Bitcoin grows further as the cryptocurrency fares better than top stocks and stock indexes.

Notably, BTC's returns in the first half of 2024 were about 94%. In comparison, the U.S. benchmark SP 500 index rose 23%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average grew 14% in the same period.

Even Apple and Tesla stocks underperformed Bitcoin, returning 10% and -29% year-to-date. However, Nvidia, which recently became the world's most valuable public-traded company , outperformed Bitcoin, rising by over 150% in the first six months of 2024 due to an ongoing artificial intelligence boom .

Related: 63 US banks on the brink of insolvency: Why Bitcoin’s next target is $100K

Veteran trader Peter Brandt anticipates Bitcoin's relevance growing as a hedging asset, particularly against traditional safe havens like gold. He noted that BTC's market capitalization could rise 230% against gold after 2025.

Earlier this year, ARK Invest’s annual research report concluded that institutional portfolios aiming for maximized risk-adjusted returns should have allocated 19.4% to Bitcoin in 2023.

This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.