United States investment banking firm Morgan Stanley revealed that as of June 30, it held roughly $188 million worth of shares in BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust exchange-traded fund (ETF).
Morgan Stanley Investments
In an Aug. 14 filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Morgan Stanley reported holding more than 5.5 million shares of the iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) in the second quarter of 2024, worth $188 million. The firm also disclosed investments under $300 each in shares of a Valkyrie ETF Trust with exposure to Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH), the Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC), Bitcoin Depot, Bitwise’s Bitcoin ETF, Invesco Galaxy Bitcoin ETF, and Proshares Bitcoin Strategy ETF.
Recommendations for Financial Advisors
The Q2 2024 investments came before Morgan Stanley announced it would allow its financial advisers to recommend Bitcoin ETFs to clients, explicitly highlighting IBIT and FBTC. In response to the notice, former SEC official John Reed Stark suggested the investment firm could subject its advisers to “what will likely become the largest SEC and FINRA examination sweep in history.”
Other Investments
In addition to the BlackRock investment, Morgan Stanley said it held roughly $148,000 worth of shares in Grayscale’s Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) and $1.6 million in the Ark21Shares Bitcoin ETF. Investment firm Goldman Sachs reported exposure to more than $238 million in shares of IBIT and other ETFs. In Q1 2024 SEC filings, Millennium Management revealed holding $2 billion worth of shares of five crypto ETFs. US state pension and retirement funds, including the State of Wisconsin Investment Board and the State of Michigan Retirement System, have also invested in ETFs tied to cryptocurrency.
These investments highlight the growing interest of traditional financial institutions in cryptocurrency ETFs. Future SEC and FINRA examinations may significantly impact companies' investment strategies.
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