JPMorgan Boosts Digital-Asset ETF Holdings in Downturn, Quadruples Ethereum Position

JPMorgan Chase increased its holdings of exchange-traded funds tied to digital assets, Cointelegraph reported on Aug. 14.

A 13F filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission showed the bank held about 10.4 million shares of BlackRock’s spot Bitcoin ETF, IBIT, as of the end of June. That was up about 25% from 8.3 million shares a quarter earlier. The stake was valued at $356 million.

Its Ethereum ETF holdings climbed even faster. JPMorgan’s position in BlackRock’s spot Ethereum ETF, ETHA, rose to about 1.17 million shares in the second quarter from about 267,000 shares in the first quarter, an increase of more than fourfold.

The bank also added XRP-related products to its portfolio. In the second quarter, JPMorgan reported holding 181 shares of Grayscale’s XRP investment product and 113 shares of the Bitwise XRP ETF. It held neither in the first quarter.

The increase in holdings does not necessarily mean JPMorgan is betting on rising digital-asset prices. Jonathan Landin, chief market analyst at PrimeXBT, said 13F filings can include client trades and assets held across multiple parts of an institution. Those disclosures do not indicate a firm’s view on the future direction of a specific market.