The second quarter of 2024 ended with major United States banks offering institutional exposure to spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
Numerous second-quarter 13F filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission revealed that these Wall Street giants acquired substantial shares of different spot Bitcoin ETFs for their clients. In the coming months, these entities could purchase the ETFs and add them to their balance sheets.
U.S. Banks Purchase Bitcoin ETFs
First on the list is Goldman Sachs, the world’s second-largest investment bank by revenue. The institution reported spot Bitcoin ETF holdings amounting to a whopping $418 million. The bank disclosed that it owns shares of several funds, including BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), Fidelity’s Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC), and Grayscale’s Bitcoin Trust (GBTC)
Goldman Sachs’ investments also extended to funds issued by Ark Invest/21Shares, Invesco/Galaxy, Bitwise, and WisdomTree. Its highest holdings are in IBIT, amounting to $238 million, followed by $79.5 million in FBTC.
Morgan Stanley is another Wall Street giant that reported spot Bitcoin ETF holdings. Although the firm revealed a $269 million investment in GBTC in the first quarter, its holdings reduced to roughly $189.7 million by the end of June. The GBTC shares were slashed to $148,000, while shares in Ark Invest’s ARKB totaled $1.6 million.
Interestingly, Morgan Stanley’s $188 million investment in IBIT made it the fifth-largest holder of the fund’s shares. The bank also urged its financial advisers to pitch Bitcoin ETFs to clients with more than $1.5 million net worth.
Surpassing Nakamoto’s Holdings
Other Wall Street giants such as Bank of America, HSBC, and UBS reported smaller investments in spot Bitcoin ETFs. Bank of America holds $5.3 million in shares, mainly from IBIT and FBTC, HSBC acquired $3.6 billion in ARKB, and UBS reported roughly $300,000 in IBIT and other ETFs.
While Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, HSBC, and UBS took their time to purchase spot Bitcoin ETFs for clients, some entities like Wells Fargo and JP Morgan jumped on the bandwagon shortly after the funds were launched in the first quarter, however, with minimal investments.
As more banks, hedge funds, and heavyweight entities invest in spot Bitcoin ETFs, analysts believe the funds are collectively on track to surpass the holdings of Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto by October.
