UBS Group AG has tripled its stake in BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust, lifting the position to roughly $90 million across 2.5 million shares.
From rounding error to real position
The path there says more than the headline figure.
UBS first appeared in IBIT during Q1 2024 with just 3,600 shares, a stake valued somewhere between $125K and $146K.
By December 31, 2025, that had grown to 548,614 shares worth about $27.2 million.
The bank then trimmed back, reporting 364,000 shares valued at $14 million as of May 2026, before the latest filing revealed the jump to 2.5 million shares at $90 million.
Banks buying while hedge funds trim
UBS is far from alone in the trade.
Across the institutional landscape, 1,560 separate organizations collectively held IBIT shares worth more than $27 billion in Q1 2026.
Some hedge funds pulled back on bitcoin ETF exposure during the same quarter, while banks as a group were adding to their positions.
Client access expanding alongside
The Swiss bank has also been opening access to IBIT and comparable products for its wealth management clients.
That means the firm’s own balance sheet position and its client facilitation business are now growing in tandem, rather than one leading the other.
