UBS Group, the largest bank in Switzerland with $6.6 trillion in assets, has significantly increased its bet on the digital asset ecosystem. According to the latest disclosures, the banking titan has solidified its position as a major institutional holder of MicroStrategy (MSTR), often viewed as a corporate proxy for Bitcoin.
A billion-dollar bet
The Swiss giant recently disclosed the purchase of an additional 551,121 shares of MicroStrategy, a move valued at approximately $98 million.
This latest acquisition brings UBS’s total holdings to 6.31 million shares, representing a massive $1.12 billion position in the Bitcoin treasury company.
The bank’s accumulation of MSTR has been aggressive throughout 2026:
UBS held 2.52 million shares valued at $415 million as of January. In February, the bank nearly doubled its stake, adding 3.23 million shares to reach a total of 5.76 million shares ($805 million). In May, total holdings surged to 6.31 million shares ($1.12 billion).
$XRP exposure
The move into MicroStrategy is part of a broader institutional pivot toward digital assets for UBS.
Newly surfaced SEC Form 13F filings reveal that the bank has also officially disclosed exposure to $XRP. The dollar amounts are relatively small for a wealth manager of UBS’s scale, the symbolic weight of the move is substantial for the asset’s institutional credibility.
In its early years, UBS executives expressed high skepticism regarding cryptocurrencies, questioning the viability of assets like Bitcoin to function as either money or a reliable store of value. Consequently, the Swiss banking giant initially avoided direct crypto trading, limiting its digital asset involvement strictly to internal research and private blockchain experiments.
Over time, this skepticism evolved into a calculated “fast follower” strategy.
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