Bank of America picks Bitcoin ETF over Ether and Solana in Q1

Bank of America reported about $53 million in crypto ETF exposure in its Q1 2026 13F filing, with BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust leading the group. 

The filing showed a larger IBIT position and smaller Ether and Solana ETF exposure, putting Bitcoin at the center of the bank’s reported crypto ETF basket.

Bank of America held 972,590 shares of IBIT worth about $37.3 million at the end of the quarter, up from 719,008 shares in the prior filing. That made IBIT the largest single crypto ETF position in the bank’s report.

The bank also held smaller Bitcoin ETF positions across other issuers. Its reported holdings included about $7.98 million in Bitwise’s BITB, $3.32 million in Grayscale’s Bitcoin Mini Trust, and about $1.71 million in Fidelity’s FBTC. Smaller positions in GBTC, VanEck’s HODL, and ARKB also stayed on the books.

Ether and Solana exposure moves lower

The filing showed lower exposure to Ether and Solana products during the same quarter. Bank of America’s Ethereum allocation stood near $1.06 million through BlackRock’s ETHA, with 67,492 shares remaining after the reduction.

The bank also sold 700 shares of the Volatility Shares 2x Solana ETF and kept 10,296 shares of the standard Solana ETF, valued near $86,000. XRP exposure stayed unchanged at 13,000 shares of the Volatility Shares XRP ETF, worth about $98,500.

Strategy stock dwarfs ETF holdings

The ETF positions were smaller than the bank’s crypto-linked equity exposure. The filing also showed 3.96 million shares of Strategy, formerly MicroStrategy, valued near $660 million.

Strategy remains widely tracked because of its large Bitcoin treasury. For Bank of America, that equity position was more than twelve times larger than its direct crypto ETF exposure at quarter-end.

Bank filings add to institutional ETF trend

The filing was submitted to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission as a Form 13F-HR. The SEC filing page lists a May 18 filing date and a March 31 reporting period.

Related crypto.news coverage reported that Wells Fargo also used regulated crypto products in Q1, with IBIT still its largest crypto ETF position at about $250 million. The same report noted that 13F filings show holdings, not the reason behind each trade.

A separate crypto.news report cited a Coinbase and EY-Parthenon survey of 351 institutions. It found that 73% planned to increase digital asset allocations in 2026, while regulated products had become the preferred exposure route for about two-thirds of respondents.