Swiss banking giant UBS (UBS) has dramatically increased its stake in Bitcoin (BTC).
UBS, which has more than $7 trillion U.S. of assets under management, has reported a more than 24-fold quarterly increase in call options tied to BlackRock’s (BLK) Bitcoin Trust (IBIT).
That increase, which gives it the right to acquire shares in the iShares Bitcoin Trust exchange-traded fund (ETF), came as its IBIT holdings rose 12% in the year’s second quarter.
The Swiss banking group reported 1.95 million of call options on IBIT shares as of June 30, up from 80,000 three months earlier.
Call options are essentially bets that an asset’s price will rise over a set period of time and are viewed as a sign of bullish sentiment among investors.
UBS separately held 407,890 IBIT shares outright worth $13.6 million U.S. That’s up from 364,371 shares at the end of the year’s first quarter, according to a U.S. regulatory filing.
UBS’ increased Bitcoin ETF holdings and call options come as the bank looks to expand its clients’ access to digital assets.
Earlier this year, the Swiss bank began offering its private banking clients access to Bitcoin and Ethereum (ETH) trading.
UBS stock has risen 35% over the last 12 months to trade at $53.63 U.S. per share.
Bitcoin is trading at $63,500 U.S. on Aug. 17.
