Key Takeaways

• UBS increased its direct IBIT holdings by 11.9%.
• Call exposure surged more than 23-fold.
• Put exposure fell by roughly 53%.
• The widely cited 230% figure combines different instruments.

According to a Form 13F filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on August 13, UBS Group reported 407,890 shares of the iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT) as of June 30.

IBIT, managed by BlackRock, is the largest spot Bitcoin ETF by assets under management. Spot Bitcoin ETFs began trading in January 2024 after the SEC approved the first wave of such products, making the Q2 2024 13F filings among the earliest to capture a full quarter of institutional positioning in these funds.

UBIS's reported IBIT holdings were up from 364,371 shares at the end of March, an increase of 11.9%.

Its options positions changed much more sharply. Reported IBIT calls increased from exposure equivalent to 80,000 underlying shares in March to 1.95 million shares in June, a rise of roughly 2,338%.

Put exposure moved in the opposite direction, falling from 303,300 to 143,300 underlying shares, or about 53%.

Why the 230% and $90 Million Headlines Are Misleading

Claims that UBS increased its “spot Bitcoin ETF holdings” by about 230% are based on combining positions that the SEC filing reports separately.

UBS ended June with:

• 407,890 ordinary IBIT shares
• Calls covering 1.95 million underlying shares
• Puts covering 143,300 underlying shares

Together, these amount to about 2.50 million underlying share equivalents. The comparable Q1 positions totaled about 747,671, producing an increase of roughly 234.5%.

However, that does not mean UBS increased its spot IBIT holdings by 234.5%.

The ordinary ETF position rose only 11.9%. Most of the increase came from options, which the SEC requires filers to report separately as calls or puts.

The dollar figures require the same distinction.

UBS’s ordinary IBIT shares were valued at approximately $13.58 million in the June filing. Its calls were reported against roughly $64.92 million of underlying IBIT value, while puts represented another $4.77 million.

Adding all three produces about $83.26 million, but that is not the same as UBS owning $83.26 million of IBIT.

For long options, Form 13F reports positions by reference to the securities underlying the contracts. As a result, the figures should not be read as the amount UBS paid for the options themselves.

Using a later IBIT market price to value all 2.50 million share equivalents can push the headline number toward $90 million, but it still combines direct ETF ownership with call and put exposure.

The Options Shift Is the Bigger Story

The change in calls stands out far more than the increase in ordinary shares.

UBS went from calls representing 80,000 underlying IBIT shares to 1.95 million in three months, while cutting its reported put position by more than half.

That is a very different development from a simple Bitcoin ETF buying spree.

There are also limits to what can be inferred from the filing. Form 13F does not disclose an institution’s full derivatives book. Written options, for example, are not reported in the same way, so the disclosed calls and puts cannot be treated as UBS’s complete net directional exposure.

The SEC addresses these reporting rules in its Form 13F guidance, which requires institutional investment managers overseeing at least $100 million in qualifying assets to file quarterly disclosures of their long equity and exchange-traded holdings.

UBS Group also submitted the filing as a combined report covering multiple UBS entities. Large financial groups commonly file consolidated 13F reports aggregating positions across subsidiaries, business units, and asset management arms, meaning the reported positions should not automatically be described as a single $83 million corporate Bitcoin bet by the bank itself.

The filing shows something more specific: UBS modestly increased its direct IBIT holdings during the second quarter, dramatically expanded its reported call exposure, and cut its put exposure by roughly half.

That makes the 2,338% jump in calls, rather than a supposed 230% surge in spot Bitcoin ETF ownership, the standout change in the latest filing.

Disclaimer: This article is for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute financial or investment advice. Cryptocurrency markets are highly volatile, and readers should conduct their own research before making investment decisions.