Morgan Stanley reveals $270 million investment in Bitcoin ETFs, making it top GBTC holder (2024)

Morgan Stanley revealed a $269.9 million investment in spot Bitcoin ETFs via Grayscale’s GBTC in its first quarter 13F disclosure.

Based on Fintel data, the investment makes it one of the largest holders of GBTC, following Susquehanna International Group’s leading $1.0 billion investment.

Morgan Stanley is also one of many Global Systemically Important Banks (G-SIBs) that have disclosed investments in spot Bitcoin ETFs, alongside the Royal Bank of Canada, JP Morgan Chase, Wells Fargo, BNP Paribas, and UBS.

Other firms invest

Other firms also disclosed investments in spot Bitcoin ETFs. On May 14, New York advisory firm Pine Ridge Advisers disclosed a $205.8 million investment in spot Bitcoin ETFs, comprising $83.2 million of BlackRock’s IBIT, $93.4 million of Fidelity’s FBTC, and $29.3 million of Bitwise’s BITB.

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

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

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

First quarter of BTC ETFs

The latest filings come on the deadline for first-quarter 13F reports, marking the end of the first quarter that 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 called the trend a “historical scale of professional investor ownership” only previously seen with the launch of gold ETFs in 2004 — considered the most successful ETF launch at the time.

However, despite the influx of institutional money, Hougan said that retail investments remain the biggest chunk of the money invested in spot Bitcoin ETFs, which collectively have about $50 billion in AUM as of press time.

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