JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley Boost Bitcoin and Ether ETF Stakes in Q2

Wall Street's biggest banks deepened their commitment to cryptocurrency exchange-traded funds in the second quarter, with JPMorgan Chase and Morgan Stanley both expanding their positions in Bitcoin and Ether products despite a turbulent stretch for digital asset prices.

According to a Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission covering holdings as of June 30, JPMorgan increased its stake in BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF by roughly 25%, lifting its position to approximately 10.4 million shares from 8.3 million at the end of the first quarter. The holding was valued at about $356 million at the quarter's close.

The bank's move into Ether was even more aggressive. JPMorgan reported holding about 1.17 million shares of the iShares Ethereum Trust ETF, more than four times the 267,000 shares it disclosed in the prior quarter.

Morgan Stanley also expanded its Bitcoin ETF exposure during the period, though the reported dollar value of its IBIT stake declined to approximately $549 million from $667 million as Bitcoin prices fell. The bank separately disclosed 2.57 million shares of its own Morgan Stanley Bitcoin Trust, a product that began trading in April. In Ether, Morgan Stanley more than tripled its position in BlackRock's Ethereum ETF.

The second-quarter filings reveal that both institutions moved beyond the two largest cryptocurrencies. JPMorgan reported new positions in XRP-related investment products, including 181 shares of Grayscale's XRP product valued at $3,763 and 113 shares of Bitwise's XRP ETF worth $1,356. Neither position appeared in the bank's first-quarter filing.

Jonatan Randin, senior market analyst at PrimeXBT, cautioned against reading the 13F disclosures as straightforward directional bets. The filings aggregate positions across multiple divisions within financial institutions, including assets held for clients and inventory, and they exclude short positions entirely.

"It gives you some idea of what they are doing but not their opinion about the future direction of a specific market," Randin said. He added that the disclosures "do not necessarily reflect a market outlook or a conviction about price direction."

Randin linked the timing of JPMorgan's XRP investments to recent regulatory developments and the launch of spot XRP products in the United States. "From my point of view this adds credibility to the regulatory improvements surrounding XRP," he said.

The analyst also noted that JPMorgan trimmed positions in several Bitcoin mining companies during the quarter, a move he said likely reflects the shifting operational focus of listed miners. As miners increasingly diversify into artificial intelligence and high-performance computing, they have become less straightforward proxies for Bitcoin itself.

"If that was the reason for holding them, trimming that part of the portfolio makes a lot of sense regardless of your view of the future direction of price," Randin said.

The table below summarizes JPMorgan's key ETF position changes in the second quarter.

Product	Q1 Shares	Q2 Shares	Q2 Value
iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF	8.3 million	10.4 million	$356 million
iShares Ethereum Trust ETF	267,000	1.17 million	Not disclosed
Grayscale XRP Product	0	181	$3,763
Bitwise XRP ETF	0	113	$1,356

Note: Figures reflect JPMorgan's Form 13F filing with the SEC covering positions as of June 30, 2026.

Form 13F is a quarterly report required by the SEC for institutional investment managers with at least $100 million in assets under management. The filings offer a window into the portfolios of Wall Street's largest investors but reveal only long positions in eligible securities.

The growing institutional embrace of crypto ETFs extended beyond US borders last week. Bank Leumi, Israel's largest bank, announced a partnership with Galaxy Digital to offer cryptocurrency trading services to its customers. Through the Leumi Trade app, clients of Leumi and its mobile banking unit Pepper will be able to buy, hold, and sell Bitcoin, Ether, and Solana, with the service expected to launch in early 2027.

Galaxy will provide trading infrastructure through its GalaxyOne Institutional platform and support Leumi's digital asset operations with its custody infrastructure. Maya Ravia, Leumi's chief strategy officer, said the initiative represents "a key pillar in the bank's innovation strategy" and would give customers "easy, secure, and regulated access to digital asset trading through world-class technology infrastructure."

The arrangement allows customers to access crypto assets through their existing regulated banking relationship without opening accounts at separate crypto exchanges or managing self-custody infrastructure. Leumi had previously planned to offer crypto trading through its Pepper Invest platform in 2022, initially targeting Bitcoin and Ether.

The second-quarter filings from JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley, combined with Leumi's planned retail crypto service, underscore how traditional financial institutions continue to integrate digital assets into their product offerings and investment portfolios as regulated vehicles become more widely available.