United Kingdom’s Banking Giants Barclay’s revealed it has invested about $131 million into Blackrock’s IBIT Exchange Traded Funds.
The information was revealed in a 13F filing to the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), sharing key details about the bank’s IBIT position.
The UK-based bank holds 2,473,064 shares of IBIT, valued at $131 million as of December 31.
According to the filing, the purchase took place during the fourth Quarter of last year, aligning with Donald Trump’s Induced Bull Run during that period.
Bitcoin, the flagship crypto asset, broke its all-time high of $73,737 during the same period and surged as high as $98,000. The rise in Bitcoin’s price during this quarter could have triggered the bank’s investment.
Barclay’s Bank joins the League of Financial Behemoths by investing in Bitcoin directly or indirectly through exchange-traded funds.
Other banking giants, such as Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan, have also recently purchased Bitcoin ETFs, adding to the liquidity flowing into the crypto market from institutional investors.
Blackrock’s IBIT Leading the Onboarding of Institutional Investors
Blackrock’s IBIT launched in January 2024 is the largest Bitcoin ETF product in terms of inflows and Assets Under Management
BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) manages approximately $56.3 billion in assets.
The ETF product seems to be the go-to for traditional financial investors looking to get into the digital assets market. Several prominent financial institutions have invested in IBIT:
Morgan Stanley: Held around $187 million worth of IBIT shares as of June 30, 2024.
Bank of Montreal (BMO): Allocated $139 million to IBIT, as reported in a January 13, 2025, SEC filing.
Barclays: Disclosed holdings of 2,473,064 IBIT shares, valued at $131 million as of December 31, 2024.
Additionally, the State of Wisconsin Investment Board invested nearly $100 million in IBIT.
The ETF product by the world’s largest Asset Manager is effectively leading the onboarding of institutional investors into the crypto market.
Blackrock also has an Ethereum ETF product known as BlackRock’s iShares Ethereum Trust ETF.
The Blackrock ETHA hasn’t performed like its Bitcoin counterpart due to a host of structural and fundamental reasons.
