French banking giant BNP Paribas disclosed it has begun purchasing shares of BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) and currently holds a small exposure to Bitcoin through the ETF.
The firm’s latest 13F filing, dated May 1, indicates that the bank holds 1,030 shares of IBIT and values the shares at $41,684.
BNP Paribas’ IBIT investment represents a tiny portion of its overall investments, which the latest filing reports as $113.8 billion.
Sovereign funds
BNP Paribas’ reported investment comes alongside statements from BlackRock that predict growing institutional investments in spot Bitcoin ETFs.
In a May 2 statement to Coindesk, BlackRock head of digital assets Robert Mitchnick said that financial institutions, including pensions, endowments, sovereign wealth funds, insurers, asset managers, and family offices, may begin to invest in spot Bitcoin ETFs.
Mitchnick said that his firm has seen “a re-initiation of the discussion around bitcoin,” or how companies allocate BTC within their portfolios.
He added that various companies are engaged in “ongoing diligence and research conversations” and emphasized BlackRock’s role in education.
Investment within months
Mitchnick said that each type of institution could start trading spot Bitcoin ETFs in the coming months and said BlackRock has been discussing Bitcoin with institutions for several years.
BNP Paribas represents a potential start to the trend.
The bank is the second-largest in Europe in terms of assets and, as of 2022, was the ninth-largest bank in the world. As such, its purchase of BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust represents interest from a notable company despite the investment’s modest size.
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