Wealth management clients from prominent Wall Street banks like Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, and Morgan Stanley have continued to hold and trade Bitcoin (BTC) through spot Bitcoin ETFs in the third quarter. This trend may increase in the fourth quarter, especially after the recent surge in cryptocurrency prices following the U.S. presidential election.

Goldman Sachs reported that it held shares of spot Bitcoin ETFs valued at $710 million by the end of September. This represented a significant increase from the previous quarter's $418 million. The bank's investments largely comprised shares from BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), with nearly 13 million shares held.

Despite minimal changes in allocations during the third quarter, which coincided with relatively stable Bitcoin prices ranging from $53,000 to $66,000, this trend may change with the anticipated rise in market activity. James Van Straten from CoinDesk noted that institutions have been slow to adapt to the changing market, which might lead to renewed interest as Bitcoin recently surpassed its previous all-time high.

As the quarter end approaches, and amid the prospects of a crypto-friendly presidency, institutions may scramble to allocate at least 1% of their portfolios to cryptocurrencies, driven by fear of missing out on market developments.