In a 13-F filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on August 14, Morgan Stanley reported holding more than 5.5 million shares of iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) in the second quarter of 2024, worth $188 million.
A 13F is a quarterly report filed with the SEC by companies managing at least $100 million in assets. Morgan Stanley is a multinational investment bank and financial services company managing more than $1.3 trillion in assets.
This figure has made the famous investment bank Morgan Stanley one of the five largest holders of IBIT (BlackRock) in the second quarter.
Additionally, Morgan Stanley disclosed that it owns 26,222 shares of the ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF (ARKB) worth about $1.5 million, down slightly from $2.3 million at the end of Q1.
It’s worth noting that Morgan Stanley now holds only $148,000 worth of Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) shares, down by half from $266.9 million in Q1.
In general, 13F filings provide an overview of managers’ holdings at the end of each quarter. However, this filing does not disclose short positions of institutions, so it may not provide a complete view of these companies’ investment strategies.
BlackRock’s IBIT fund continues to show its outstanding appeal as many big financial sector companies invest in it. IBIT is also currently the largest Spot BTC ETF with over $21 billion in assets under management (AUM), surpassing Grayscale’s GBTC.
On August 14, banking giant Goldman Sachs revealed that it owns 6.9 million shares of IBIT, worth nearly $240 million.
In its Q1 SEC filing, Millennium Management revealed that it holds up to $2 billion in spot Bitcoin ETFs. Many pension funds in US states such as Wisconsin & Michigan have also invested in crypto ETFs this year.
Overall, institutions have shown great interest in spot Bitcoin ETF products in 2024. The positive capital inflow into Bitcoin ETFs has contributed significantly to the nearly 50% increase in BTC price since the beginning of this year, according to analysts at Bybit.
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