Rothschild Family Joins the Game: Analyzing the 23 Major Buyers Behind Grayscale's BTC Trust "Whales"
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Rothschild Family Joins the Game: Analyzing the 23 Major Buyers Behind Grayscale's BTC Trust "Whales"
BlockFi, a cryptocurrency lending company, is the largest holder of Grayscale Bitcoin Trust shares, owning approximately 24.2355 million shares. Meanwhile, the traditional financial power Rothschild family has also quietly entered this market.
Navigating Web3 tides with focused insightsOriginal article by Ann Hsu, Chief Strategy Analyst at Chain Hill Capital (Qianfeng Capital), authorized for reprint by TechFlow.
As of November 9, 2020, based on publicly disclosed information, a total of 23 companies (representing 29 institutional accounts) held shares in the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust. BlockFi, a cryptocurrency lending firm, is the largest holder of Grayscale Bitcoin Trust shares, owning approximately 24.2355 million shares. The Rothschild family, a traditional financial powerhouse, has also quietly entered this market, signaling growing interest from legacy financial institutions in the emerging crypto sector.
29 Institutional Accounts Hold Trust Shares
As of November 9, 2020, according to publicly available data, 23 companies (totaling 29 institutional accounts) held shares in the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust, collectively holding 59.5532 million shares—accounting for 11.55% of the total issued shares of the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust. (Note: The data includes only institutions that have publicly disclosed their holdings with the U.S. SEC. Holdings may vary across reporting periods; this analysis includes only those institutions still holding shares as of November 9, 2020.) These 23 firms include crypto lenders, hedge funds, mutual funds, private wealth firms, advisory firms, and family offices.
Total of 23 institutional investors with publicly disclosed positions as of November 9 – Source: Fintel | Chart: Chain Hill Capital
Among these 23 firms, some hold Grayscale Bitcoin Trust shares through multiple products, resulting in a total of 29 institutional-level accounts holding trust shares.
Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC, a mutual fund company, holds shares via five trust funds (KINETICS PORTFOLIOS TRUST), collectively owning 5.1777 million shares, and one closed-end fund, RCG (RENN Fund, Inc., a publicly traded entity under Horizon Kinetics), which holds 5,460 shares.
ARK Investment Management LLC, a hedge fund, directly holds 5.1704 million shares in the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust. Its "Next Generation Internet ETF" (ARKK) holds an additional 3.1544 million shares.
Notably, several well-known private wealth managers and family offices appear on this list, including Rothschild Investment Corp, affiliated with the prominent Rothschild family.
Breakdown of holdings across 29 institutional accounts – Source: Fintel | Chart: Chain Hill Capital
Based on each trust share representing 0.00095299 BTC as of November 9, the 29 institutional accounts collectively hold approximately 56,753 bitcoins. Among them, BlockFi is the largest holder, with its shares equivalent to about 23,096 BTC.
(Note: These institutions may not necessarily have acquired shares through primary market subscriptions—their investment methods are not detailed in public records. Additionally, only institutions that disclosed holdings to the SEC are included; others may hold positions without disclosure. Some prior investors have exited in recent reporting periods and are excluded from this analysis.)
Bitcoin equivalents held by 29 institutional accounts – Source: Fintel | Chart: Chain Hill Capital
This article highlights several major shareholders from the list, providing brief profiles of these institutions.
BlockFi – Cryptocurrency Lending Firm
BlockFi is a New York-based cryptocurrency lending company founded in 2017 by Zac Prince and Flori Marquez. As a secured non-bank lender, BlockFi provides dollar-denominated loans to borrowers who pledge crypto assets as collateral, aiming to offer credit services to markets underserved by traditional savings products.
Founder Zac Prince graduated from Texas State University and has extensive experience in online lending. Prior to launching BlockFi, he led business development teams at Orchard Platform—a brokerage and RIA platform in the online lending space—and at Zibby, a consumer financing company. Co-founder Flori Marquez has a strong background in fixed income, having managed a $30 billion fixed-income portfolio earlier in her career.
BlockFi currently operates in over 44 U.S. states and has received strategic investments from several leading crypto-focused venture capital firms, including Coinbase Ventures, Galaxy Digital, Morgan Creek Capital Management, Three Arrows Capital, and Winklevoss Capital (founded by the Winklevoss twins).
BlockFi’s investor lineup
Source: BlockFi official website
As of November 9, 2020, BlockFi held 24.2355 million shares in the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust, representing approximately 4.7% of the total outstanding shares.
Three Arrows Capital – Hedge Fund
Three Arrows Capital, based in Singapore, is a cryptocurrency hedge fund founded in 2012 by Su Zhu and Kyle Davies. Its business segments include core crypto asset investments, decentralized finance (DeFi) investments, equity investments, and fund management.
Three Arrows Capital's business landscape – Source: Three Arrows Capital official website | Chart: Chain Hill Capital
As of November 9, 2020, Three Arrows Capital held 21.057 million shares in the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust, accounting for approximately 4.08% of the total issued shares.
Horizon Kinetics – Mutual Fund Manager
Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC serves as the investment advisor for Kinetics Mutual Funds, Inc., managing nine mutual funds in total. Five of these funds hold shares in the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust. Founded in 1994, Kinetics became a wholly owned subsidiary of Horizon Kinetics in 2011. As of June 2020, Horizon Kinetics managed approximately $5.135 billion in assets under management (AUM).
Ownership structure of Horizon Kinetics – Source: Horizon Kinetics official website
The following funds managed by Kinetics Mutual Funds, Inc. hold Grayscale Bitcoin Trust shares: Paradigm Fund (1.965 million shares), Small Cap Opportunities Fund (307,100 shares), Internet Fund (2.1466 million shares), Market Opportunities Fund (601,800 shares), and Global Fund (156,500 shares). Notably, the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust is the top holding for both the Global Fund and the Internet Fund, representing 11.4% and 21.3% of their respective portfolios as of September 30, 2020.
Grayscale Bitcoin Trust is the top holding for both Global Fund and Internet Fund
Source: Horizon Kinetics official website
The Rothschild Family
One notable name on the institutional list is Rothschild Investment Corp, a long-established family investment firm. It is highlighted here due to its historical significance, symbolizing the confidence of traditional "old money" in the emerging cryptocurrency sector.
Originally named Rothschild & Company, Rothschild Investment Corp was founded in 1908 by Monroe Rothschild and his brother-in-law Samuel Karger. For decades, it has been a leading financial institution based in Chicago, Illinois. During the 1929 stock market crash and subsequent Great Depression, Samuel Karger’s commitment to personalized client service, financial conservatism, and sharp business acumen enabled the firm to survive. These principles remain foundational to the firm today.
Historical timeline of Rothschild Investment Corp – Source: Rothschild Investment Corp official website
As of June 30, 2020, Rothschild Investment Corp managed $1.397 billion in AUM and served 1,405 clients globally. Its largest equity position is in Apple Inc., holding 413,200 shares.
As of November 9, 2020, Rothschild Investment Corp held 24,500 shares in the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust, representing approximately 0.0048% of the total issued shares. While this equates to just 23 bitcoins, the mere participation of such a storied traditional financial entity signals a broader shift—traditional financial powers are increasingly recognizing the appeal and legitimacy of the cryptocurrency market.
About Chain Hill Capital
Founded in 2017, Chain Hill Capital (Qianfeng Capital) focuses on value investing in global blockchain projects. The firm has built an investment matrix spanning early-stage and growth-stage equity investments, as well as Alpha Strategy and Beta Strategy crypto asset portfolios. Strategically positioned in key global hubs—including Chicago, New York, Tokyo, Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Hong Kong—its core teams in research, trading, and risk management are composed of professionals from top-tier international universities and institutions. The research team combines rigorous fundamental analysis with mathematical and statistical models to develop investment strategies such as "Pure Alpha" and "Smart Beta," and is preparing to release institutional-grade research and due diligence reports externally.
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