Morgan Stanley, one of the world’s largest investment banks, has revealed a significant investment of $270 million in Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs). This move positions them as one of the top holders of Grayscale’s GBTC, following Susquehanna International Group’s $1.0 billion investment. The bank is part of a growing list of Global Systemically Important Banks (G-SIBs) that have disclosed investments in Bitcoin ETFs, including the Royal Bank of Canada, JP Morgan Chase, Wells Fargo, BNP Paribas, and UBS.
Other financial firms have also disclosed significant investments in Bitcoin ETFs. Pine Ridge Advisers, a New York advisory firm, shared a $205.8 million investment in various Bitcoin ETFs, while hedge fund manager Boothbay Fund Management revealed a $377 million exposure. Alternative asset manager Aristeia Capital, Connecticut-based investment firm Graham Capital Management, hedge fund manager Crcm Lp, and investment manager Fortress Investment Group LLC also disclosed substantial investments in Bitcoin ETFs.
These filings come as the deadline for first-quarter 13F reports approaches, marking the end of the first quarter when most spot Bitcoin ETFs became available for investors. Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan expects that over 700 professional firms will have invested nearly $5 billion by the deadline, describing it as a “historical scale of professional investor ownership.” However, retail investments still constitute the majority of the funds invested in Bitcoin ETFs, with a collective asset under management of approximately $50 billion.