Barclays Lifts BlackRock Bitcoin ETF Stake 48% as Bank Holdings Double

By Tom Whitfield

Barclays raised its holdings of BlackRock's spot Bitcoin ETF by roughly 48% in the third quarter, disclosing 3.94 million shares worth about $187 million as of Sept. 30. The UK bank held 2.66 million shares at the end of the second quarter, according to a 13F filing reported by Cointelegraph on Nov. 11.

Citigroup moved in the same direction. It built a new $119 million position in Fidelity's Bitcoin ETF during the quarter and expanded its BlackRock ETF holdings to 521,000 shares, up about 50% from 347,000 shares at the end of June.

How much bank money now sits in spot Bitcoin ETFs?

Banks held approximately $258 million of spot Bitcoin ETFs based on third-quarter filings, or 4.9% of the disclosed total, according to data compiled by Bitwise. That is up from $107 million, or 3.2%, in the second quarter — a more than twofold increase in dollar terms in one quarter.

The broader institutional base grew in step. A total of 1,389 U.S. institutions that have disclosed third-quarter results held a combined $5.25 billion of spot Bitcoin ETFs, up about 56.7% from $3.35 billion in the prior quarter.

What do the filings signal about holder composition?

Bitwise analyst Kamran Khorshid said third-quarter filings show long-term investors are making up a growing share of spot Bitcoin ETF holders, with higher exposure from banks, including Citigroup, supporting that trend.

He added that large banks and asset managers can now recommend Bitcoin ETFs to clients, and that the shift should become more visible in future institutional filings.

The operational consequence is straightforward: as banks and advisers gain the ability to allocate and recommend the products, distribution flows through channels that traditional ETFs already occupy. Barclays and Citigroup are typically market-makers and clearing intermediaries, so their 13F positions reflect both proprietary exposure and client-related inventory.

For comparison, the $187 million Barclays stake in BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust is a fraction of the $5.25 billion in combined disclosed institutional holdings — but its 48% single-quarter growth rate outpaced the 56.7% aggregate increase only narrowly, indicating the bank channel is scaling at roughly the same pace as the wider institutional base.

What comes next?

Fourth-quarter 13F filings, due within 45 days of Dec. 31, will show whether the bank channel moved beyond initial allocations. With bank-held ETF assets doubling quarter over quarter, the share of spot Bitcoin ETF supply held by regulated lenders is now a measurable line item rather than a rounding error, and the next filing window will test whether the 4.9% figure marks a floor or a peak.