Major U.S. banks, including JPMorgan Chase (JPM) and Wells Fargo (WFC), have reported holding spot Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
It is the first time that either JPMorgan Chase or Wells Fargo have publicly reported having exposure to Bitcoin, or any cryptocurrency for that matter.
The disclosures were made through 13F regulatory filings that the banks are required to make each quarter.
About a dozen spot Bitcoin ETFs launched in January of this year after being approved by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
JPMorgan disclosed investments totaling $731,246 U.S. in BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), Bitwise's Bitcoin ETF (BITB), Fidelity's Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC), and Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC), with most of its investment, $477,425 U.S., in the BlackRock fund.
Wells Fargo reported a $141,817 U.S. investment in Grayscale’s GBTC Bitcoin fund.
Other U.S. banks, including BNP Paribas (BNP) and BNY Mellon (BK), have also reported investments in the spot Bitcoin ETFs.
The disclosure by JPMorgan Chase comes as a bit of a surprise given that the bank’s chief executive officer (CEO) Jamie Dimon has been a vocal critic of cryptocurrencies.
Dimon has compared Bitcoin to the “pet rock” in past comments and called the digital currency “worthless.”
Bitcoin’s price has risen 40% so far in 2024 and currently trades at $61,500 U.S.
