Barclays reports 3.94 million shares of BlackRock's Bitcoin ETF, up 48% in a quarter

Barclays held about 3.94 million shares of BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), worth roughly $186.7 million, on September 30, 2026, the British bank's quarterly holdings report to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) shows. That is 48% more shares than the 2.66 million in its report for June 30, an increase Cointelegraph reported on November 11.

What the 13F filings show

Institutional investment managers that oversee at least $100 million of US-listed stocks, exchange-traded funds and certain other securities must report those holdings every quarter on Form 13F, the SEC's guidance says. The form is a snapshot of positions on the last day of the quarter.

Barclays' report for the third quarter, filed on November 6, lists three IBIT share positions that add up to 3,942,900 shares with a reported value of $186,656,887. The same table lists put options on 8,169,700 IBIT shares and call options on 8,479,800.

Citigroup's report, filed on November 4, lists 1,636,387 shares of the Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund at $118,867,152, IBIT positions of 438,367 and 82,777 shares, and IBIT call options on 400,000 shares and put options on 505,000.

The deadline for third-quarter reports is Monday, November 16, under the SEC's 45-day rule, so more filings are due.

What the filings do not show

Barclays' report covers seven other group entities, including Barclays Bank PLC and Barclays Capital Inc., its cover page shows, and the form does not say why a position is held. In our assessment, the large and nearly matching put and call positions in Barclays' table are consistent with trading and hedging activity, though the filing does not say so. Managers do not report short positions on the form, according to the SEC's guidance, so it does not reveal shorts that may offset the holdings. It is not a statement that the bank itself has taken a view on Bitcoin's price.

The value is also a point-in-time figure. Bitcoin traded at about $74,200 on November 11, down from about $83,600 on September 30, according to CoinGecko, and US Bitcoin funds have had about $1.6 billion of net outflows so far in November, according to data cited by Cointelegraph.

Why it matters

The filings show two large banks reporting sizable positions in Bitcoin funds and in options on them, without showing on whose behalf. On November 11, Deutsche Bank said that its crypto custody service is live for paying clients, according to Reuters, and a group of banks is reported to be putting money into a stablecoin venture known as Project Faro.

What it could mean for traders

In our assessment, 13F data is useful for seeing which institutions handle Bitcoin funds and of little use as a trading signal: it can be more than six weeks old when published, and it cannot show whether a position is hedged.