Morgan Stanley Deepens Crypto Exposure Through Grayscale Bitcoin Trust

Leading investment bank Morgan Stanley has once again deepened its crypto bet through Grayscale Bitcoin Trust. The megabank had been invested in crypto through the trust for a while now across various funds. In a recent SEC filing, the bank revealed that it had dramatically increased its holdings in the trust over the summer. When it seemed like the broader market was panicking due to low prices, the wealth management firm had been filling up its bags.

In a tweet from MacroScope, it was pointed out that the megabank had not only deepened its bet but had widened it through exposure in bitcoin by spreading the holdings across additional funds.

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The largest Morgan Stanley funds with stakes in the Bitcoin Trust saw an increase that drove their shareholdings into the millions. Numbers show that each of the top three funds had grown their holdings in Grayscale Bitcoin Trust by at least 50%.

The Growth Portfolio recorded the largest addition of shares as over one million shares had been added over a three-month period. From June 30th to September 30th, the holdings of each fund are as follows;

Growth Portfolio grew from 2,130,153 shares to 3,642,118 shares. Insight Fund grew its holdings from 928,051 shares to 1,520,549 shares. While the Global Opportunity fund now sits at 1,463,714 shares, up over 500,000 shares from its 919,805 number at the end of June.

These funds help the wealth manager provide crypto exposure for its clients without having to actually hold any bitcoin on its balance sheets. The Grayscale Bitcoin Trust also boasts investments from leading investment firms such as Cathie Wood’s ARK Invest.

Bitcoin trending at $57K | Source: BTCUSD on TradingView.com

Morgan Stanley Looking Positively Towards Bitcoin

Morgan Stanley has always looked favorably towards the asset class when it comes to the big U.S. banks. In March 2021, the bank became the first major U.S. bank to offer bitcoin exposure to its clients. It gave its clients a way to access the booming crypto industry through bitcoin funds, although the service was reserved for the wealthy clients of the wealth manager.

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Last month, James Gorman, Chief Executive Officer of Morgan Stanley, had shared positive views on the cryptocurrency market. During an earnings call, Gorman explained that he did not think that crypto and by extension, bitcoin, was a fad, stating “I don’t think it’s going away.”

This was in contrast to fellow big bank boss James Dimon who had expressed that he thought Bitcoin was worthless. However, JPMorgan, which Dimon serves as CEO, would give its clients as “clean as possible access”, explaining that its clients were adults who could make their own decisions.

Featured image from Nairametrics, chart from TradingView.com