UBS disclosed a sharp change in its Bitcoin-related exposure in the second quarter.
According to CoinDesk, the bank’s latest 13F filing shows that, as of June 30, the number of underlying shares tied to its call options on BlackRock’s spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund, iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), climbed from 80,000 in March to 1.95 million. That works out to an increase of about 2,338%, or roughly 24 times in a single quarter.
Calls surged while spot holdings rose modestly
The same filing shows UBS’s non-option IBIT holdings increased 11.94% to 407,900 shares.
Its put exposure moved the other way. The number of underlying shares tied to IBIT puts fell from 303,300 to 143,300, a drop of 52.75%.
The report said UBS’s total IBIT position was worth about $90 million, up roughly 230% in the first half of the year.
A 13F shows positions, not intent
The report also cautioned against reading the jump in call options as a clear directional bet by UBS on a major Bitcoin rally.
A 13F filing discloses positions, but it does not show the purpose behind them or identify the ultimate beneficiary. For a large bank such as UBS, the calls could be held for clients, used in market making, or structured as hedges rather than reflecting the bank’s own outright view on Bitcoin.
That means a simple reading of the filing as outright bullish positioning would be incomplete.
Institutional crypto exposure keeps expanding
Even so, the report said the continued expansion of Bitcoin-linked positions at major banks adds another sign of the ongoing institutionalization of crypto assets, regardless of the exact use of those positions.