JPMorgan Chase has invested in several Bitcoin ETFs, including products from BlackRock, Fidelity, and Grayscale, according to a recent SEC filing.
JPMorgan Chase, the largest bank in America, has disclosed its exposure to various spot Bitcoin Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) through a recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). This announcement comes just hours following a similar disclosure by Wells Fargo, the country's third-largest bank.
According to the SEC document, JPMorgan Chase has invested in ETFs managed by some of the leading asset management firms, including BlackRock, Fidelity, Grayscale, and others. The total amount reported by JPMorgan Chase is approximately $760,000, with specific holdings in the ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BITO), BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), Fidelity’s Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC), Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC), and the Bitwise Bitcoin ETF. Additionally, the bank holds 25,021 shares valued at around $47,000 in Bitcoin Depot, a Bitcoin ATM provider.
The filing, dated May 10, shows that the bank's involvement with Bitcoin ETFs is part of its market-making activities. Bloomberg ETF Analyst James Seyffart pointed out that the disclosed ownership does not necessarily reflect anything beyond the shares held as of March 31, 2024. Seyffart highlighted the limitations of the 13F data, noting that it does not account for short positions or derivatives, thus not providing a complete picture of the bank's true exposure at the end of the first quarter.
Just FYI everyone. JPM, Susquehanna (which also owns these ETFs and was all over this site last week) and others are just market makers and/or AP's. Their ownership isn't necessarily indicative of anything other than this is how many shares they had on 3/31/24. https://t.co/hADcA91xwz
— James Seyffart (@JSeyff) May 10, 2024
Bloomberg Senior ETF Analyst Eric Balchunas also commented on the news, suggesting that the role of major banks as market makers or Authorized Participants (APs) will likely result in similar holdings reports. However, Balchunas also noted the significant number of holders for these ETFs, with the $IBIT reaching up to 250 in the first quarter, a figure he described as "bonkers."
prob see many of the big banks report some holdings in their role as market makers/APs. That is dif then them buying for the exposure (and thus less hypocritical in JPM's case).. props for catching this tho we still working on getting the file on bbg it just came out
— Eric Balchunas (@EricBalchunas) May 10, 2024
The report by JPMorgan Chase arrives amid a broader trend of financial institutions revealing their stakes in Bitcoin-related products. Just days prior, Susquehanna International Group reported purchasing over $1 billion in shares of spot Bitcoin ETFs in the first quarter of 2024.
