BNP Paribas, Europe’s second-largest bank, recently purchased exposure to Bitcoin through a spot ETF, according to a 13F filing with the SEC.
BNP Paribas has acquired BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT), according to a filing.
JUST IN: 🇫🇷 BNP Paribas, Europe’s second largest bank, reports that it is exposed to the following risks: #Bitcoin ETF with 13F report.
It’s just the beginning 🚀 pic.twitter.com/4zi1EkAc07
— Bitcoin Magazine (@BitcoinMagazine) May 2, 2024
The U.S. spot Bitcoin ​ETF has been a huge success, with cumulative trading volume exceeding $200 billion since its launch earlier this year.
Regulations require large institutional investors with more than $100 million under management to disclose their holdings quarterly through 13F filings. Since its highly anticipated debut, Bitcoin investors have been awaiting these filings to see which institutions allocate to Bitcoin ETFs.
Previous Q1 2024 filings revealed purchases by asset managers, family offices and banks such as Park Avenue Securities, Inscription Capital, Wedbush Private Capital and American National Bank.
Now BNP Paribas, Europe’s second largest bank with over $600 billion in assets under management, has joined. BNP’s investment of approximately $40,000 in IBIT is relatively small, but it is significant for one of Europe’s largest banks to begin exposure to Bitcoin. ETF.
According to analysts, the filing of more 13F filings before the May 15 deadline could reveal even more institutional participation in spot Bitcoin ETFs. The filings so far indicate growing acceptance of Bitcoin among traditional financial entities.
If more major banks and asset managers disclose their Bitcoin allocations, it will further validate Bitcoin as an investable asset class.
Adoption by older institutions could foster broader mainstream acceptance and drive further inflows into regulated Bitcoin investment vehicles. Bitcoin ETF purchases remain a small part of portfolios so far, but the fact that traditional giants like BNP Paribas are participating is telling.