Barclays Acquires Shares in BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF
Global investment bank Barclays has disclosed holdings of 2,473,064 shares in BlackRock’s U.S. spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund IBIT, valued at $131.2 million. This acquisition occurred in the fourth quarter of 2024, coinciding with the post-election period in which pro-crypto Donald Trump was elected for a second term as U.S. President.
In its previous Q3 2024 filing, Barclays noted a minor position in Grayscale’s Bitcoin Mini Trust ETF, BTC, which it no longer holds. The new investment in IBIT significantly increases their stake, although it comprises about 0.04% of Barclays’ total portfolio value of $356.9 billion as of December 31.
According to Fintel data, Barclays is now among the top 10 holders of IBIT. Goldman Sachs remains the largest known institutional holder, with over 24 million shares worth approximately $1.3 billion. Goldman also has around $294 million in Fidelity’s FBTC, bringing its total Bitcoin ETF investments to over $1.6 billion. Other significant investors include Tudor Investment Corporation, DRW Securities, and the State of Wisconsin Investment Board.
13F filings are quarterly reports filed with the SEC by institutional investment managers with more than $100 million in equity assets. They reveal stock holdings at the end of each quarter but only disclose long positions, thus providing a limited view of an investment strategy.
Since the initial filings in May last year, Matt Hougan, CIO at Bitwise, remarked that initial allocations represented a “down payment” and predicted that allocations could reach 1-5% of professional investor portfolios on average.
BlackRock’s IBIT currently leads the U.S. spot Bitcoin ETF market, having attracted over $41 billion in net inflows since its launch in January 2024, with assets under management totaling $56 billion according to The Block’s Bitcoin ETF Tracker Page.
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