Morgan Stanley Joins Major Banks in Massive Investment Surge into Bitcoin ETFs

Morgan Stanley Joins Major Banks in Massive Investment Surge into Bitcoin ETFs

Morgan Stanley unveiled a significant investment of $269.9 million in spot Bitcoin ETFs through Grayscale’s GBTC in its first-quarter 13F filing.

According to Fintel data, this investment positions Morgan Stanley as one of the largest GBTC holders, trailing behind Susquehanna International Group, which leads with a $1.0 billion investment.

Morgan Stanley joins the ranks of other Global Systemically Important Banks (G-SIBs) that have disclosed investments in spot Bitcoin ETFs, including Royal Bank of Canada, JP Morgan Chase, Wells Fargo, BNP Paribas, and UBS.

Several other firms have also revealed their investments in spot Bitcoin ETFs. Pine Ridge Advisers, a New York-based advisory firm, disclosed a $205.8 million investment on May 14. This includes $83.2 million in BlackRock’s IBIT, $93.4 million in Fidelity’s FBTC, and $29.3 million in Bitwise’s BITB.

Boothbay Fund Management, a New York-based hedge fund manager, disclosed a $377 million exposure to spot Bitcoin ETFs. This comprises $149.8 million in IBIT, $105.5 million in FBTC, $69.5 million in GBTC, and $52.3 million in BITB.

Furthermore, Aristeia Capital Llc, an alternative asset manager, disclosed a $163.4 million investment in IBIT on May 15. Connecticut-based investment firm Graham Capital Management disclosed holdings of $98.8 million in IBIT and $3.8 million in FBTC, while hedge fund manager Crcm Lp disclosed a $96.6 million investment in IBIT.

Fortress Investment Group LLC, a New York investment manager, disclosed a $53.6 million investment in IBIT.

These filings coincide with the deadline for first-quarter 13F reports, marking the end of the first quarter in which investors could purchase most spot Bitcoin ETFs.

Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan commented on the recent wave of filings, estimating that over 700 professional firms would have invested nearly $5 billion by the May 15 deadline.

Hougan described this trend as a “historical scale of professional investor ownership,” comparable to the launch of gold ETFs in 2004, which was considered the most successful ETF launch at the time.

Despite the influx of institutional money, Hougan noted that retail investments still represent the largest portion of the money invested in spot Bitcoin ETFs, which collectively have about $50 billion in assets under management as of press time.