UBS has radically increased its bet on bitcoin: exposure to call options on ETFs has grown 24-fold.
Swiss banking giant UBS is demonstrating an impressive turnaround in its digital assets strategy. According to my analysis of fresh data from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), at the end of the second quarter the bank held call options on 1.95 million shares of BlackRock's bitcoin ETF IBIT. For comparison, three months earlier this figure stood at just 80,000 shares — a 24-fold increase in a single quarter.
An asymmetric approach to risk
Not only the scale deserves attention, but also the structure of the position. UBS's direct stake in IBIT increased by 12% — to 407,890 shares, equivalent to roughly $13.6 million at current prices. However, the key signal lies in the options strategy: put option exposure declined by 53%, to 143,300 shares. This is clear evidence that the bank is betting on upward momentum, not merely hedging risks.
Such an imbalance between calls and puts is a classic sign of bullish sentiment among institutions. UBS, as a conservative player with a long-standing reputation, is unlikely to take such a step without deep internal analysis. It seems that in Zurich they see fundamental drivers for bitcoin growth that outweigh short-term macroeconomic risks.
It is worth emphasizing that the growing interest in IBIT from giants like UBS strengthens the narrative of bitcoin's legitimization as an institutional asset class. If previously banks limited themselves to targeted purchases, now we are witnessing the formation of a systematic options strategy designed for a long-term uptrend.
My conclusion: UBS's actions are not a speculative surge, but a well-thought-out market play with an asymmetric return profile. The rise in calls combined with the reduction in puts indicates the bank's confidence that current price levels offer an attractive entry point. For the market, this is a strong bullish signal, especially against the backdrop of a general cooling of retail interest. However, let me remind you: banks' options positions may be part of complex arbitrage structures, so blindly copying them is not advisable.