Bank of America raised its position in BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) last quarter while reducing exposure to spot Ether and Solana ETFs, according to the bank's latest 13F disclosure, surfaced by Wu Blockchain on May 23, 2026. The shift puts the second-largest US bank on the same side of the trade as several large institutional rotations into Bitcoin and away from alt-asset ETFs that have shown up across recent filings.
The news lands into a soft tape. As of May 23, 2026, BTC trades at $75,395 (down 2.6% on the day), ETH at $2,066 (down 2.9%), and SOL at $84.47 (down 2.6%), with the CoinMarketCap Fear and Greed index at 35 ("Fear"). BofA's repositioning was filed for the prior reporting quarter, so it does not reflect this week's drawdown, but the direction of travel lines up with how the spot ETF tape has behaved since.
A bank-level vote on which crypto exposure to keep
13F filings disclose long equity positions held by institutional managers above the SEC reporting threshold. The relevant signal here is not the absolute dollar size of any single holding, which for a $3T-balance-sheet bank is small in context, but the direction. Adding to IBIT and trimming spot Ether and Solana ETFs at the same time is a deliberate active choice, not a passive index adjustment.
It also tells you which crypto exposure BofA's wealth and asset-management arms are comfortable carrying at this stage of the cycle. Spot Bitcoin ETFs have an 18-month track record, deeper liquidity, options markets, and broad client demand. Spot Ether ETFs are younger, with thinner flows. Spot Solana ETFs are newer still and operate with smaller AUM. For a regulated bank operating client-facing portfolios, IBIT is the path of least resistance when crypto exposure has to be carried somewhere.
Lines up with the recent flow data
The filing arrives roughly two days after spot Ether and Bitcoin ETFs posted net outflows on May 21 while alt-coin ETFs collected inflows. That single-day print looked like a contrarian rotation; the BofA disclosure is the opposite, a quarterly position rebalance that concentrated exposure in IBIT rather than spreading it across the alt ETF complex.
The two data points are not contradictory. Daily flows reflect tactical flows from retail, hedge funds, and market makers. Quarterly 13F changes from a money-center bank reflect a slower decision cycle and committee-level risk appetite. When both surfaces lean the same way over multiple quarters, that becomes the institutional baseline. For now, the baseline is "Bitcoin yes, alts less".
Limits of the signal
The disclosure does not say BofA has turned bearish on Ether or Solana as assets. The bank's filings reflect its own balance-sheet and fiduciary positioning, not directional research calls on token fundamentals. It also does not capture derivatives, prime-brokerage activity, or any custody-side exposure to client crypto holdings, which can run in the opposite direction. And it is a single quarter; the next filing can reverse it just as cleanly.
It is, however, one more data point against the thesis that institutional crypto adoption automatically widens to ETH and SOL once BTC is comfortable. So far, the gap is widening, not closing.
Knock-on for spot ETF concentration
IBIT already runs the largest spot Bitcoin ETF by AUM. Continued institutional bias toward IBIT specifically, rather than the broader spot Bitcoin ETF complex (FBTC, ARKB, BITB, others), reinforces its dominance and makes the gap with smaller issuers harder to close. For Ether ETFs, the read-through is harsher: if the bank that gets to allocate to any spot crypto product picks Bitcoin over Ether at the margin, alt ETF AUM growth depends almost entirely on retail and crypto-native flows.
For users of crypto cards and stablecoin spending products, the second-order effect to watch is reserve composition. Stablecoin issuers, exchange treasuries, and card-program treasuries that benchmark to "institutional crypto exposure" will track the same direction: more Bitcoin, less alt-asset risk on the books. Programs that earn yield from staked ETH or SOL (staking cards included) sit on the other side of that flow.
Overview
Bank of America's latest 13F filing shows the second-largest US bank raising its IBIT position and cutting spot Ether and Solana ETF exposure last quarter. As of May 23, 2026, BTC sits at $75,395 (down 2.6% on 24h), ETH at $2,066 (down 2.9%), and SOL at $84.47 (down 2.6%). The disclosure is one quarter of data, but it fits a pattern of large institutions concentrating crypto exposure in Bitcoin and IBIT specifically, rather than broadening into the alt-ETF complex.
