Barclays and Citigroup’s third-quarter 2026 SEC filings show sizable positions in U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs. They do not show whether the holdings were proprietary investments, hedges, market-making inventory or positions managed for clients.
- Barclays reported 3, 942, 900 IBIT shares, about 48% more than at the end of June.
- Citi reported $118.87 million in FBTC shares and $24.67 million in IBIT shares.
- The reported share positions were worth about $330.2 million on Sept. 30, excluding options.
- These are quarter-end snapshots, not a record of current holdings or net exposure.
What Barclays and Citi reported
Barclays’ Form 13F, filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Nov. 6, 2026, listed 3, 942, 900 shares of BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT), valued at $186.66 million on Sept. 30. The filing split the shares across three positions.
The reported share count was roughly 48% higher than the approximately 2.66 million shares listed at the end of June. Barclays’ earlier position was valued at $88.5 million. Its dollar value more than doubled, but the share count gives a clearer picture of how the reported position changed. Market prices can change a position’s value even when its share count stays the same.
Citigroup’s Form 13F, filed two days earlier, reported 1, 636, 387 shares of Fidelity’s Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC), valued at $118.87 million. The June-quarter figures cited here show no matching FBTC position. That does not tell us when Citi acquired the shares or how the position came about.
Citi also reported 521, 144 IBIT shares worth $24.67 million. That was up from 347, 114 shares at June 30, an increase of 174, 030 shares, or about 50.1%.
The three reported share positions were worth about $330.2 million at quarter-end. That figure excludes the banks’ separately reported options. The filings identify securities reported by investment managers with discretion over them. They do not, on their own, show that the securities are proprietary bank investments or identify every beneficial owner.
Options complicate the picture
Both banks also reported options tied to IBIT. Barclays listed calls covering 8, 479, 800 underlying shares and puts covering 8, 169, 700. Citi reported calls covering 400, 000 shares and puts covering 505, 000.
“Underlying shares” means the number of ETF shares referenced by the options contracts. It does not mean the bank owns that many shares outright. The filings do not reveal the banks’ strategies or all positions that might offset the options. These figures, then, cannot be treated as a measure of net bitcoin exposure.
Citi’s reported IBIT options were lower than in June, when its filing listed calls covering 2.91 million shares and puts covering 1.6 million. Those figures show reported positions at two quarter-ends, not all the trading that may have taken place in between.
What a 13F filing can and cannot show
Under SEC rules, an institutional investment manager generally must file Form 13F if it exercises investment discretion over at least $100 million in securities on the SEC’s list of covered securities, measured on the last trading day of any month in a calendar year. The reports cover specified securities, not every asset or trade a manager may have.
A 13F reports certain holdings as of the end of a quarter. It does not give the exact purchase dates or prices, show whether a position remained in place afterward, or establish the manager’s overall market exposure. The filings report long positions without subtracting short positions. Qualifying options held are reported separately, while written options are excluded. A large reported holding, on its own, does not prove a bullish bet.
Jane Street’s June 30, 2026, filing offers a useful comparison. It showed more than $1 billion in bitcoin ETF holdings, including roughly $828 million in IBIT. Those figures did not establish whether the positions represented an outright investment, hedged activity or client-related trading. The same caution applies to the bank filings.
November flows came after the reported holdings
The Barclays and Citi positions were dated Sept. 30, 2026. Separate ETF flow figures for Nov. 2-6 therefore cannot show what either bank held during that later period.
Those figures put withdrawals from bitcoin ETFs at $1.28 billion for the week, including $1.21 billion from IBIT, which recorded net withdrawals in every session. FBTC had $93.1 million in net inflows for the week, despite losing $199.9 million on Thursday. Ether ETFs lost $365.2 million. Combined withdrawals from bitcoin and ether ETFs were approximately $1.65 billion.
The outflows offer a later market snapshot. They do not show that Barclays or Citi sold their positions. The filings do not disclose what either manager did after Sept. 30.
Related development: Deutsche Bank launches crypto custody
Separately, Deutsche Bank launched a crypto custody service for institutional and corporate clients in Europe on Nov. 11, 2026, Reuters reported. The initial service supports bitcoin, ether and the stablecoins USDC, EURC and EURAU. Deutsche Bank manages clients’ wallets and private keys, with access through its Autobahn corporate banking platform. Retail customers are not included in the initial offering.
The bank’s October registration under the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets framework covers crypto custody and transfer services. Deutsche Bank has announced plans to expand into major Asian financial centers in 2027, though it has not specified the operational details here.
Institutional custody lets companies hold digital assets without managing private keys themselves. It also means trusting a provider with access to those assets, a practical trade-off rather than decentralization. The launch adds to the institutional infrastructure around crypto, but says nothing about whether the bank or its clients intend to buy bitcoin.
Key questions, answered
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How many IBIT shares did Barclays report?
Its Nov. 6, 2026, filing listed 3, 942, 900 shares, valued at $186.66 million on Sept. 30. That was roughly 48% more shares than at the end of June.
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What bitcoin ETF shares did Citi report?
Citi reported 1, 636, 387 FBTC shares worth $118.87 million and 521, 144 IBIT shares worth $24.67 million.
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Do the filings reveal the banks’ net exposure through these ETF and options positions?
No. They do not identify the positions’ purpose or show all offsetting trades. They report holdings only at quarter-end.
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Did the November ETF withdrawals happen before or after the reported holdings?
After. The filings show positions as of Sept. 30, 2026. The cited withdrawals took place Nov. 2-6.
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Who can use Deutsche Bank’s initial crypto custody service?
Institutional and corporate clients in Europe. Retail customers are excluded from the initial offering.
