Barclays Increases BlackRock Bitcoin ETF Stake by 48%

Barclays significantly increased its stake in the iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT), a BlackRock Bitcoin ETF, during the third quarter, reporting a 48% rise in its holdings. The bank's position in IBIT reached 3.94 million shares by September 30, valued at approximately $187 million, an increase from 2.66 million shares worth $88.5 million held at the end of June.

These filings provide an initial view of evolving institutional ownership in Bitcoin ETFs, with additional major banks and hedge funds expected to disclose their third-quarter positions by the upcoming deadline.

Bitwise analyst Camran Khosravi observed that long-term holders are constituting a larger portion of the spot Bitcoin ETF investor base, citing increased exposure from financial institutions such as Citigroup. Citigroup disclosed a new investment of approximately $119 million in the Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC). Concurrently, its reported IBIT holdings grew by 50% to about 521,000 shares from 347,000 shares over the same period.

Bitwise data indicates that banks' share of reported spot Bitcoin ETF holdings among early third-quarter filers rose to $258 million, or 4.9%, from $107 million, or 3.2%, in the second quarter. Investment advisers continued to be the largest holders, accounting for $3.5 billion, or 66.6%, of reported positions, an increase from $2.2 billion in the preceding quarter.

Bitwise analyzed holdings for 1,389 institutions that had submitted their third-quarter reports, noting a combined spot Bitcoin ETF holding value increase to $5.25 billion from $3.35 billion. Khosravi suggested that financial advisers at major banks and wealth management platforms are now able to recommend Bitcoin ETFs to clients, anticipating this trend will become more apparent in future institutional filings.

Jonatan Randin, senior market analyst at PrimeXBT, cautioned that rising Bitcoin ETF valuations do not necessarily indicate new institutional purchases, emphasizing the importance of examining share holdings rather than just the dollar amount. He noted that IBIT's price appreciated by approximately 41% in Q3.

Randin also highlighted that the filings reflect holdings as of September 30, preceding subsequent Bitcoin price declines and outflows from spot ETFs. US spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded about $6.34 billion in net inflows during the third quarter, followed by approximately $2.1 billion in net outflows in the fourth quarter up to Tuesday.