JPMorgan’s holdings linked to Bitcoin and crypto came close to $1 billion at the end of September, according to its latest quarterly filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
The bank’s Form 13F, which lists holdings as of 30 September, shows about $981 million across spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), Strategy and Coinbase. Including its positions in Robinhood and Bitcoin miners, the total is likely to be above $1 billion.
Bitcoin ETFs
JPMorgan’s Bitcoin ETF holdings were worth about $549 million in total. The largest was BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), where it held 11,408,930 shares worth about $540 million, up from about $356 million a quarter earlier. Its share count rose 9.6%.
The bank also held smaller stakes in Grayscale’s and Bitwise’s Bitcoin ETFs.
Strategy and Coinbase
JPMorgan raised its stake in Strategy, the largest corporate holder of Bitcoin, by 36% to 848,932 shares, from 624,387 at the end of June. The stake was worth about $131.3 million, up from $57.9 million, reflecting both the extra shares and a higher share price.
It also held Coinbase shares worth about $301 million, and positions in Robinhood and miners including Core Scientific and Hut 8. The filing also shows sizeable options positions linked to IBIT and Strategy.
Not necessarily a bet on Bitcoin
A 13F is a snapshot, and does not show trades made after 30 September. Large banks often hold these kinds of positions to hedge or to handle trades for clients, so the figures say more about the scale of JPMorgan’s activity in crypto markets than about a view on prices.
JPMorgan chief executive Jamie Dimon has in the past called Bitcoin worthless and compared crypto to fraud. The bank has nonetheless expanded its digital asset services, including its JPM Coin deposit token on Ethereum.
What happens next
Bitcoin has fallen sharply since the end of September and now trades below $69,000, so the value of these positions has likely dropped. JPMorgan’s next 13F, covering the end of December, will show whether it added to or cut its holdings.
