Barclays Increases BlackRock Bitcoin ETF Position by 48% to $187M

Barclays increased its holdings in BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT) by 48% during the third quarter, reporting 3.94 million shares valued at roughly $187 million as of Sept. 30, according to its Form 13F filing ¹. The position expanded from 2.66 million shares worth $88.5 million registered at the close of the second quarter on June 30 ¹. At the time of writing, $BTC traded around $73,856.

The disclosure aligns with broader institutional accumulation across major banking institutions ¹. Citigroup disclosed a fresh $119 million allocation to the Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC) alongside a 50% increase in its IBIT position, which reached approximately 521,000 shares from 347,000 shares at the end of June ¹. Bitwise data tracking 1,389 early filers showed that banks represented $258 million, or 4.9%, of early reported spot $BTC ETF assets, up from $107 million, or 3.2%, in the second quarter ¹. Investment advisers remained the primary holder class, controlling $3.5 billion, or 66.6%, of disclosed positions ¹. In total, reported spot Bitcoin ETF assets among early filers climbed to $5.25 billion from $3.35 billion ¹.

Shifting Holder Composition

Part of the aggregate value increase stemmed from capital appreciation rather than spot share purchases alone, with IBIT gaining roughly 41% during the quarter ¹. The broader market dynamics have also shifted since the quarter closed; while US spot Bitcoin ETFs attracted about $6.34 billion in net inflows during the third quarter, products experienced approximately $2.1 billion in net outflows in the fourth quarter through Tuesday, according to SoSoValue data ¹. Multiple large institutional managers, including JPMorgan, Wells Fargo, Millennium Management, and Schonfeld Strategic Advisors, are yet to disclose their positions before the quarterly filing window closes ¹.