Morgan Stanley Deepens Crypto Commitment with $188 Million Stake in BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF

Morgan Stanley, a leading U.S. investment bank, recently revealed its significant involvement in the cryptocurrency space, with holdings amounting to roughly $188 million in BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF. This information, made public through an SEC filing dated August 14, details that the firm had acquired over 5.5 million shares in the ETF during the second quarter of 2024.

In addition to this substantial stake in BlackRock’s ETF, Morgan Stanley disclosed smaller, yet notable, investments across a variety of crypto-focused funds. These include Valkyrie's ETF Trust, Fidelity's Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund, Bitcoin Depot, Bitwise’s Bitcoin ETF, Invesco Galaxy Bitcoin ETF, and ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF. Interestingly, these investments were made prior to the bank's announcement permitting its advisors to recommend Bitcoin ETFs to clients, with a particular emphasis on IBIT and FBTC.

Beyond the BlackRock position, Morgan Stanley reported holding approximately $148,000 in Grayscale’s Bitcoin Trust and an additional $1.6 million in the Ark21Shares Bitcoin ETF. Meanwhile, Goldman Sachs also signaled its involvement in the crypto market, with exposure exceeding $238 million across IBIT and other related ETFs.

This growing interest in crypto-linked investments isn't limited to major banks. Previous filings have highlighted Millennium Management's impressive $2 billion in five crypto ETFs, as well as investments from state pension and retirement funds in Wisconsin and Michigan, signaling a broader institutional embrace of cryptocurrency-related assets.