Bank of Montreal (BMO) makes multi-million investment in Bitcoin ETFs

The Bank of Montreal (BMO), Canada’s third largest bank in AUM, has invested $150M in Bitcoin ETFs. The bank’s submission of Form 13F-HR to the U.S. SEC revealed that it had quietly bought $139M of BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin ETFs and distributed the remaining $11M among three other major Bitcoin ETFs. 

According to the BMO’s January 13 U.S. SEC filing, the bank spent $139M on BlackRock’s iShares ETFs and distributed $11M among Bitcoin ETFs from ARK 21Shares, Grayscale, and Fidelity. The $1.4T Bank of Montreal (BMO) significantly increased its Bitcoin ETF holdings by over 1053.85% from $13M to $150M in just one quarter.

BMO makes multi-million ‘behind the scene’ ETF investments 

BREAKING: ONE OF CANADA'S BIG 5 BANKS JUST INCREASED ITS #BITCOIN EXPOSURE 1,000x

IT NOW OWNS $150 MILLION IN BTC 🔥 pic.twitter.com/U8XniKnA4Q

— The Bitcoin Historian (@pete_rizzo_) February 13, 2025

BMO’s significant, quiet Bitcoin ETF investments came to light after it filed Form 13F-HR with the U.S. SEC on January 13th. The U.S. SEC requires institutional asset managers who manage assets worth over $100 million in the U.S. to file the quarterly holdings report. BMO’s Bitcoin ETF investments include $139 million in IBIT and a combined $11 million in ARKB, FBTC, and GBTC, bringing the total investment to $150 million.

According to Quentin Francois, co-founder of the community-owned weRate review platform, the Bank of Montreal 10x’d its Bitcoin ETF holdings with its latest ETF investments. Francois said the ‘institutional flood was only just beginning’ as the Canadian bank stacked Bitcoin through Ark, Fidelity, BlackRock, and Grayscale. The BMO also purchased approximately $17K of ProShares Bitcoin ETF, which is invested in future Bitcoin contracts.

According to AInvest, the National Bank of Canada also made a significant move by purchasing a $2 million Bitcoin ETF. The investment signaled a growing interest in digital assets among traditional financial institutions, increasing the legitimacy of crypto as an asset class. 

“When a major bank moves $2M into Bitcoin ETFs, it’s not just about the cash – it’s about validation. Institutions are stepping in where retail carved the path.”

~ Crypto Town Hall, hosted by Mario Nawfal, Scott Melker, and Ran Neuner

AInvest notes that Bitcoin ETFs have become a popular vehicle for institutional investors to gain exposure to the crypto market without having to own or store Bitcoin directly.

ETFGI reports a record $64B in net inflows for ETFs in the Canadian industry 

ETFGI, an independent research and consultancy firm, reported that the Canadian ETF industry recorded over $64.03 billion in net inflows in 2024. The January 20th, 2025 report disclosed that the 2024 net inflows were the highest ever, with the 2021 net inflows of $46.55 billion and the 2023 net inflows of $31.59 billion ranking second and third, respectively. 

ETFGI noted that assets of $397.15 billion invested in the ETFs industry in Canada at the end of 2024 were the second highest on record, below the record $404.60 billion set at the end of November 2024. The assets went from $313.48 billion at the end of 2023 to $397.15 billion to record an increase of 26.7% in 2024. The ETFs industry in Canada had 1.234K ETFs with 1.542K listings and assets of $397.15 billion from 45 providers on 2 exchanges.

In December, Canadian Equity ETFs reported net inflows of $5.29 billion, while Fixed-income ETFs had net inflows of $1.3 billion. Active ETFs also attracted net inflows of $2.35 billion in December. Overall, Equity ETFs had net inflows of $29.48 billion in 2024, while Fixed-income ETFs had net inflows of $10.19 billion. Active ETFs also recorded overall net inflows of $23.36 billion in 2024.

As per ETFGI, 2024, Equity ETF net inflows were higher than the $7.37 billion net inflows recorded in 2023, and the fixed-income ETF net inflows of $6.78 billion also recorded in 2023. Active ETFs also recorded comparatively lower net inflows in 2023, at $16.32 billion.

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