Paul Tudor Jones' Bet on BlackRock's Bitcoin ETF Reaches $22.9 Million

Tudor Investment Corp, a Connecticut-based macro hedge fund founded by Jones in 1980, disclosed ownership of 688,529 shares of the BlackRock iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) in its latest 13F filing submitted to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). As of the reporting date of June 30, the value of this stake was $22.9 million, an 18.9% increase from the previous quarter when the company reported holding 579,083 IBIT shares.

This gradual build-up of the position places Jones among a growing group of traditional asset managers who are using spot bitcoin ETFs, rather than direct custody, to gain exposure to the asset. Tudor Investment Corp manages approximately $106 billion in assets, meaning the IBIT position remains only a small fraction of the fund's overall portfolio even after the latest addition.

From Inflation Hedge to ETF Buyer

For years, Jones has been one of Wall Street's most consistent bitcoin advocates, long calling the asset an inflation hedge rather than a speculative trading vehicle. In an October 2024 interview with CNBC, he clearly outlined his portfolio stance, noting:

"I am long gold. I am long bitcoin. I do not have any fixed income instruments."

This longstanding stance is increasingly reflected in ETF ownership since the launch of U.S. spot bitcoin funds in January 2024, which gave hedge funds the ability to hold bitcoin positions within existing custody and compliance infrastructures instead of managing private keys directly.

Jones' inclusion of bitcoin in his portfolio is not a recent decision. He first disclosed his position in this asset in an analytical note from May 2020 titled "The Great Monetary Inflation," where he reported a small single-digit percentage allocation via bitcoin futures and argued that unprecedented money printing by central banks had made bitcoin the "fastest horse" in the race against inflation.

Five years later, that early futures position has evolved into a direct and growing stake in a regulated spot ETF, reflecting both bitcoin's penetration into mainstream investment portfolios and Jones' own shift towards owning it through traditional fund structures.

IBIT remains the dominant vehicle for institutional investors: BlackRock's fund accounts for roughly 49% of the total assets under management across all U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs, with total assets for all U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs standing at approximately $105 billion as of the second quarter.

For a fund the size of Tudor Investment Corp, a $22.9 million position is clearly not an all-or-nothing bet; however, it is indicative of the direction in which market sentiment appears to be shifting. For now, the steady quarter-over-quarter growth in Jones' portfolio suggests his bitcoin investment has evolved from a symbolic gesture into a permanent portfolio fixture.

Whether this pace will be sustained, however, will become clearer in mid-November when third-quarter 13F filings are due, giving the market another chance to gauge just how seriously Wall Street's most famous macro investor takes his BTC convictions.