National Bank of Canada Takes Modest Stance on Crypto Assets

The National Bank of Canada has revealed its foray into digital assets through a regulatory filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The bank's Form 13F for the quarter ended June 30 shows a modest cryptocurrency-focused portfolio valued at approximately $111,240.

The largest allocation in the portfolio is directed towards Bitcoin-related products, specifically 5,310 shares of the ProShares Bitcoin ETF worth $42,321 and 1,090 shares of the Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund valued at $55,644.

Notably, the bank holds a position in a spot XRP exchange-traded fund through the Bitwise XRP ETF, with 330 shares valued at $3,848. This marks a rare appearance of the token in a major North American bank's 13F filing and signals that regulated Canadian financial institutions are beginning to diversify beyond Bitcoin into altcoin-based exchange-traded products.

The disclosure comes as XRP faces challenges, with its price declining by over 40% from $1.84 on January 1 to $1.05 by June 30. In contrast, Grayscale's XRP Trust ETF reported heavy redemption activity during the first half of the year, selling 103.41 million XRP valued at $180.78 million.