Barclays lifts bitcoin ETF stake 48% as Citi buys $119m of FBTC
Why it matters
Two big banks now report sizeable holdings in bitcoin funds, even as Barclays limits customers' payments to crypto exchanges. The filings don't say whether the holdings are bets or hedges for client trades.
Post to XThe short version
Barclays held about 3.9 million shares of BlackRock's bitcoin fund, worth $187m, at the end of September 2026, up 48% from June, according to filings reported on 11 November. Citigroup bought a new $119m stake in Fidelity's bitcoin fund. Both funds trade like ordinary shares on the stock market and follow bitcoin's price.
Here's what happened. Barclays owned 3,942,900 shares of IBIT, BlackRock's bitcoin exchange-traded fund, worth $186.66m on 30 September, crypto.news reported, citing a filing to the SEC on 6 November. That is a 48% rise in shares from about 2.66 million at the end of June.
The bank also held options, contracts to buy or sell later at a set price, on IBIT: calls on about 8.5 million shares and puts on about 8.2 million, according to the same report.
Citigroup filed two days earlier. It disclosed a new holding of 1,636,387 shares in FBTC, Fidelity's bitcoin fund, worth $118.87m, and raised its IBIT stake by about 50% to 521,144 shares.
There's a twist. Barclays limits and reviews customers' payments to crypto exchanges, citing fraud and scam risk, Disruption Banking reported. It also does not offer bitcoin funds in its Stocks and Shares ISA.
Put it in context: these figures are a snapshot from the end of September. US bitcoin funds lost $1.28bn in the first week of November, crypto.news noted.
Where this comes from
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