- Barclays increased its allocation to BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF by 48% in the third quarter, worth around $187 million.
- Citigroup also saw new and increased investments.
- Institutional investments have risen but so have prices.
Barclays increases Bitcoin ETF allocation
Barclays has increased its exposure to BlackRock’s spot Bitcoin exchange traded fund (ETF) by 48% in the third quarter. The bank, which now joins several other major financial institutions increasing their exposure to Bitcoin related products, holds 3.94 million shares of the iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT) according to its latest regulatory filing.
This means the bank has around $187 million invested in the ETF as of September 30. This compares to 2.66 million shares held at the end of June worth around $88.5 million.
Barclays raised its IBIT holdings 48% in Q3 to $187M as Citi opened a new $119M FBTC position, with banks now representing 4.9% of reported spot BTC ETF holdings among early Q3 filers. https://t.co/tRoiN0NHSJ
— Gokhshtein (@gokhshtein) November 11, 2026
Barclays is not the only major bank interested in Bitcoin ETFs. Citigroup also saw new investment of around $119 million, in the Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC). It also increased its position in BlackRock’s IBIT by 50%, up from 347,000 shares to around 521,000 shares. This gives a snapshot view of how much institutional investors are investing in the sector.
Banks & Advisers Increase Exposure
According to the latest data provided by Bitwise, banks made up $258 million (4.9%) of total spot Bitcoin ETFs held by institutions who have filed in the third quarter. This compares to $107 million (3.2%) in the last quarter.
Source: home.barclays
Investment advisers remained the biggest institutional investors however, with $3.5 billion reported. This compares to $2.2 billion in the previous quarter. This makes up 66.6% of total institutional investment.
The firm compared the data from the 1,389 institutions who filed. Total spot Bitcoin ETF investment rose to $5.25 billion compared to $3.35 billion in the second quarter.
However, it remains a partial picture with some major financial institutions including JPMorgan, Wells Fargo and hedge funds Millennium and Schonfeld having not yet disclosed. Institutional investment managers had until Monday to file their third quarter reports.
Prices also play their part. BlackRock’s IBIT rose around 41% in price in the third quarter, so it is important to look at how many shares institutions actually hold, Jonatan Randin, senior market analyst at PrimeXBT said.
A survey by CoinShares in October found that 40% of respondents said they held digital assets for diversification purposes and less than 9% for speculation.
The data should also be viewed in context. The latest filings show how much they held as of September 30, prior to Bitcoin’s recent price drop. US spot Bitcoin ETFs saw around $6.34 billion in net inflows in the third quarter. However, this dropped to around $2.1 billion in net outflows in the fourth quarter up to Tuesday, according to data from SoSoValue.
Overall, the latest filings suggest major banks and advisers are getting more involved in Bitcoin ETFs and we will get a complete picture when major institutions disclose their investments.
Stay informed with the latest trends in Web3, blockchain innovation, and cybersecurity updates at 3verseTV
You need to login in order to Like
Leave a comment