Edelman Financial Engines has disclosed a $34 million position in spot Bitcoin ETFs — a stake that's actually larger than the firm's $25 million position in Amazon. The holdings, revealed in a securities filing, sit in BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust and Grayscale's flagship product. It's a notable data point from a big registered investment advisor that has historically been cautious about crypto.
The filing, by the numbers
The disclosure lands as more traditional money managers trickle into the spot Bitcoin ETF market that only launched in January 2024. Edelman Financial Engines is a familiar name in wealth management, so its decision to put real money into these funds — and more than it holds in a mega-cap stock like Amazon — is worth paying attention to. The filing doesn't break down exactly how the $34 million is split between the two funds, but the iShares Bitcoin Trust and Grayscale's product are both among the largest in the space.
A long-time advocate gets his moment
This isn't a bolt-from-the-blue bet. Ric Edelman, who founded the Digital Assets Council of Financial Professionals, has been pushing for Bitcoin ETFs since 2019 — years before the SEC finally approved them. He's been publicly arguing that advisors would embrace the products once they existed as regulated, familiar wrappers. The Edelman Financial Engines disclosure suggests he wasn't just talking. The firm is now putting client money where the advocacy has been.
Tudor Investment added too
Edelman isn't the only established name moving in. Tudor Investment Corporation reported owning 688,529 shares of BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust as of June 30, valued at roughly $22.9 million. That's up from 579,083 shares the previous quarter. Paul Tudor Jones, who founded the firm, has been publicly open about owning Bitcoin for years, so the increase isn't shocking — but it shows the macro-focused shop is still adding even after the ETF's volatile first year.
The 13F filings that surfaced this week are snapshots as of June 30, which means the numbers lag reality by a few weeks. The full picture of who's buying won't be clear until the current filing window closes and the next round of disclosures lands.
