National Bank of Canada Discloses XRP and Bitcoin ETF Holdings in SEC Filing

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National Bank of Canada disclosed its first position in the Bitwise XRP ETF and pushed its total US-listed crypto ETF holdings to $6.98 million, according to a Form 13F the bank filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on August 10 covering the quarter that ended June 30.

The Bank’s Bitcoin ETF Position Has Grown Sharply

That total is a small fraction of the bank’s overall reportable holdings. It is also, once just Bitcoin funds, now more than 290 times the size it was in 2024. When U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs were new that year, a National Bank of Canada spokesperson told a reporter that the bank’s roughly $24,000 in Bitcoin ETF shares consisted of client positions held through its brokerage platform, not the bank’s own money. Two years and a nearly 300-fold increase later, with a new asset class added to the mix.

A Bigger First Bet Than Royal Bank’s

Royal Bank of Canada, the country’s largest bank, became the first Canadian bank to disclose a Bitwise XRP ETF position in May, when its own 13F showed 2,000 shares worth about $30,000.

• National Bank of Canada’s XRP stake, filed three months later, is worth roughly 11 times that.
• A smaller bank’s first move into the same fund is worth more money than the biggest bank’s first move was.
• The broader Canadian crypto market is also seeing new activity, including Robinhood Canada crypto expansion.

A Bank That Has Bet Both Ways Before

This is not the first time National Bank of Canada’s crypto exposure has been harder to read than a single number suggests. In the 13F covering the last quarter of 2024, the bank held close to $2 million in spot Bitcoin ETFs while also holding a put option against BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust worth over $1.3 million, a position that pays off if the ETF’s price falls.

Filed side by side, those two positions describe a bank that was not making a single directional bet on Bitcoin. Whether that same instinct explains the current mix of holdings, or whether this filing represents something more deliberate.

What Would Actually Answer the Question

What would resolve it is either a statement from the bank about whose money this is, or the next filing.  A position that keeps growing at this pace, or one that gets reversed, would each tell a different story than this one does. The development comes as Canada crypto ATM ban discussions continue to draw attention around the country’s approach to crypto-related financial activity.