US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick‘s hedge fund Cantor Fitzgerald LP increased the firm’s exposure to Bitcoin BTC/USD 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. 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. MSTR, formerly MicroStrategy, and MARA Holdings Inc. 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 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 GBTC, Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund FBTC, and Bitwise Bitcoin ETF BITB.
- Apart from BTC, the company also increased its existing position in iShares Ethereum Trust ETF 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 BABA by 2504%, valued at $5.012 million, as of the fourth quarter.
- Fitzgerald further hiked its holdings in Baidu Inc. BIDU and JD.Com Inc. 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 |
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
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