US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick's Cantor Fitzgerald Increases Bitcoin Exposure Via ETFs, MSTR, MARA; Adds Chinese Firms Like BABA, Baidu, JD In Q4

Author: Rishabh Mishra | February 19, 2025 07:14am

US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick‘s hedge fund Cantor Fitzgerald LP increased the firm’s exposure to Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) and Chinese technology companies during the fourth quarter of 2024, when Donald Trump was reelected as the President.

What Happened: Lutnick is the chairman and CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald, who was Trump’s pick to serve as the U.S. Secretary of Commerce. The fund added many Bitcoin-related stocks and exchange-traded funds to its portfolio in the fourth quarter amid the span of the U.S. elections, results for which were declared on Nov. 5.

Here are the key changes made to the fund’s portfolio during the quarter.

• While Coinbase Global Inc. (NASDAQ:COIN) was already a part of Fitzgerald’s portfolio during the third quarter, the stake was increased by 66% in the fourth quarter. However, the fund also added other stocks involved with BTC acquisition to its portfolio.

• Michael Saylor‘s Strategy Inc. (NASDAQ:MSTR), formerly MicroStrategy, and MARA Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MARA) were the new entrants in Fitzgerald’s portfolio. While the fund added a staggering 3,580,131 shares of MSTR worth $1.036 billion in the fourth quarter, about 170,362 of MARA were added.

• Similarly, Fitzgerald was already exposed to BTC through one of its ETF holdings, iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (NASDAQ:IBIT). It purchased an additional 1,127,368 shares or 221% of IBIT in the fourth quarter.

• Other Bitcoin-related ETFs that the fund added to its portfolio included Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (NYSE:GBTC), Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (BATS:FBTC), and Bitwise Bitcoin ETF (NYSE:BITB).

• Apart from BTC, the company also increased its existing position in iShares Ethereum Trust ETF (NASDAQ:ETHA) by 35,750 shares or 140% to a value of $1.550 million.

• Along with the cryptocurrency exposure, Cantor Fitzgerald was seen increasing stakes in China-based technology companies as it boosted its stake in Alibaba Group Holding Ltd ADR (NYSE:BABA) by 2504%, valued at $5.012 million, as of the fourth quarter.

• Fitzgerald further hiked its holdings in Baidu Inc. (NASDAQ:BIDU) and JD.Com Inc. (NASDAQ:JD) by 333% and 98%, respectively.

Company	Holdings (as of Sept. 30)	Holdings (as of Dec. 31)	Change (in %)	Value As Of Dec. 31
Strategy Inc.	0	3,580,131	0%	$1.036 billion
MARA Holdings Inc.	0	170,362	0%	$2.856 million
Coinbase Global Inc.	2,401	3,988	66%	$990,000
iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF	509,386	1,636,754	221%	$86.829 million
iShares Ethereum Trust ETF	25,555	61,305	140%	$1.550 million
Grayscale Bitcoin Trust	0	7,150	0%	$529,000
Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund	0	4,987	0%	$406,000
Bitwise Bitcoin ETF	0	4,336	0%	$220,000
Alibaba Group Holding Ltd ADR	2,270	59,119	2504%	$5.012 million
Baidu Inc.	92,330	399,975	333%	$33.721 million
JD.Com Inc.	36,740	72,745	98%	$2.522 million

See Also: Alibaba Sees Asian Funds Exiting In Q4 Even As Their US Peers UBS O’Connor, Marathon, AssetMark, And Cantor Fitzgerald Double Down

Why It Matters: According to its 13F filings with the SEC, the fund had 275 holdings valued at $5.020 billion as of the fourth quarter.

The Senate confirmed Howard Lutnick as Trump’s commerce secretary on Tuesday with a 51-45 vote, which fell along party lines. Lutnick had previously served as an adviser during Trump’s transition to his second term in the White House.

As Lutnick is part of the Trump 2.0 cabinet it is unclear if he will continue to serve as the CEO of the fund. Meanwhile, the fund has many co-CEOs including Pascal Bandelier, Sage Kelly, and Christian Wall.

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Photo courtesy: Cantor Fitzgerald

Posted In: $BTC BABA BIDU BITB COIN ETHA FBTC GBTC IBIT JD MARA MSTR