TLDR
Bank of America has increased its Bitcoin exposure mainly through spot BTC ETFs, while cutting back on Ether and Solana products.
- Bank of America now reports about $37 million in BlackRocks IBIT plus other BTC ETFs, roughly 70% of its $53 million crypto ETF basket.
- The bank trimmed its Ether and Solana ETF positions, reinforcing a tilt toward Bitcoin over smart contract platforms in regulated portfolios.
- Other major banks are showing similar patterns, so upcoming 13F filings and ETF flow data will be key to see if this Bitcoin-first trend accelerates.
Deep Dive
1. What Bank Of America Actually Changed
According to its Q1 2026 13F filing, Bank of America (BofA) reported nearly $53 million in crypto ETF exposure, led by BlackRocks iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), where it holds about $37.3 million of shares, up from the prior quarters count of 719,008 to 972,590 shares. This means IBIT alone accounts for roughly 70% of BofAs crypto ETF allocation, with additional BTC exposure via products like Bitwises BITB, Fidelitys FBTC and Grayscale vehicles.
On top of ETF holdings, BofA also owns around 3.96 million shares of MicroStrategy, worth roughly $660 million, which is substantial indirect Bitcoin exposure given MicroStrategys large BTC treasury. While the absolute numbers are small relative to BofAs balance sheet, they are material within the banks dedicated digital-asset sleeve and highly visible to other institutions.
The boost is mainly more spot BTC ETF and Bitcoin-linked equity exposure, not BofA buying coins on-chain, but it still signals institutional comfort with Bitcoin as an investable asset.
2. Preference For Bitcoin Over Altcoins
The same filing shows BofA reduced exposure to Ether and Solana ETFs, including selling leveraged Solana shares and keeping only a small residual stake, while its Bitcoin ETF positions grew. Crypto-focused coverage notes that XRP exposure stayed small and unchanged.
Media summarizing the filing describes this as a strategic rotation toward Bitcoin-centric products, with Ether and Solana treated more cautiously in the near term. In parallel, other large banks like Wells Fargo, Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs have reported BTC-heavy ETF baskets, often with IBIT as the largest single crypto line.
Within big-bank compliance and risk frameworks, crypto allocation is increasingly being expressed as mostly Bitcoin, with altcoins as smaller, more optional satellites.
3. What To Watch Next
Three signals can clarify whether this is a one-off shift or a durable regime:
- Future 13F filings from major banks and asset managers showing whether BTC ETF weights keep rising versus ETH, SOL and other alt exposures.
- Spot Bitcoin ETF flow data, especially whether large banks and wirehouses collectively become steady net buyers or treat BTC as a trading exposure.
- Macro conditions, particularly US rate expectations and bond yields, which strongly influence risk appetite and institutional demand for non-yielding assets like Bitcoin.
If more banks mirror BofAs pattern and macro headwinds ease, Bitcoins share of institutional crypto capital could keep growing even if total crypto risk stays constrained.
Conclusion
Bank of Americas latest portfolio data shows a clear shift toward Bitcoin-focused ETFs and away from Ether and Solana products, aligning with a broader Bitcoin-first stance among large financial institutions. The move is modest in size but important as a signal: regulated portfolios appear more willing to scale BTC exposure than other coins, and the strength of this trend will depend on future bank disclosures, ETF flows and the macro rate environment.
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