Wells Fargo, a prominent American bank, revealed its investments in several Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in a recent regulatory filing. This move aligns Wells Fargo with other institutions embracing crypto-based investment vehicles.
According to the filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the bank has purchased shares of Grayscale’s GBTC spot Bitcoin ETF and has exposure to Bitcoin Depot Inc., a Bitcoin ATM provider. Additionally, the filing shows that Wells Fargo has invested in the ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BITO), which offers investors exposure to BTC futures—contracts speculating on the future price of the asset.
Despite these investments, Wells Fargo’s exposure to Bitcoin ETFs remains relatively small. The filing indicates that its investment in GBTC amounts to $141,817, while its investment in ProShares is under $1,200. The exposure to Bitcoin Depot stands at just $99.
This disclosure comes after a report in February suggested that Wells Fargo, along with Bank of America’s Merrill division, was providing its wealth management clients with exposure to Bitcoin ETFs via brokerage accounts. Wells Fargo has shown repeated interest in digital assets and even piloted its digital currency back in 2019.
See Related: Bitcoin ETFs Hit Mainstream: BofA’s Merrill, Wells Fargo Now Offer Spot Trading
Bitcoin spot ETF era
The SEC’s approval of 11 spot BTC ETFs in January has led to significant success for these products. This success mirrors the soaring price of Bitcoin, which reached an all-time high of $73,747 in March. The Bitcoin spot ETF issuers now hold 847,427 BTC which is at $50 billion at the time of writing.
Hong Kong recently approved and started trading Bitcoin and Ethereum spot ETF.