The Swiss banking giant now holds 2.5 million shares of BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust, up from a modest starting point just two years ago
UBS Group AG has tripled its stake in BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust, bringing its total position to roughly $90 million across 2.5 million shares. For a bank that started its Bitcoin ETF journey with 3,600 shares worth less than $150,000 in early 2024, that is a remarkable change of posture.
From a rounding error to a real position
The trajectory tells the story more clearly than any single number. UBS entered the iShares Bitcoin Trust in Q1 2024 with a position valued somewhere between $125K and $146K. By December 31, 2025, it had grown that stake to 548,614 shares worth approximately $27.2 million. The bank then reported 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.
UBS is not alone in this 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 Q1 2026, while banks as a group were increasing their positions.
UBS has also been opening access to IBIT and comparable products for its wealth management clients, meaning the bank’s own balance sheet position and its client facilitation business are growing in tandem.
