US investment banking giant Morgan Stanley reported larger crypto fund positions in the second quarter, led by an increase of more than 3 million shares in BlackRock’s Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF).
Morgan Stanley’s reported holdings in BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT) increased by 23% to around 16.5 million shares from 13.4 million, according to its Q2 13F filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday.
Morgan Stanley also reported 2.57 million shares of its own Morgan Stanley Bitcoin Trust (MSBT), worth about $43.3 million. The product began trading in April.
The filing showed increases across several direct crypto fund positions in Q2, even as reported holdings declined in Coinbase and some other crypto-linked companies.
Morgan Stanley grows Bitcoin and Ether ETF exposure
Despite adding about 3.04 million IBIT shares, the position’s value fell about 18% to $549 million from $667 million as Bitcoin fell during the quarter.
Morgan Stanley also sharply increased several smaller Bitcoin ETF positions, including the Grayscale Bitcoin Mini Trust ETF ($BTC) and Bitwise Bitcoin ETF (BITB), while its Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC) holding rose nearly 38%.
Bitcoin ($BTC) price chart year-to-date. Source: CoinGecko
Ether holdings grew as well, with Morgan Stanley increasing its iShares Ethereum Trust ETF (ETHA) position by about 202% to 4.6 million shares and its Grayscale Ethereum Staking Mini ETF ($ETH) position by about 26% to 5.1 million shares.
In addition to initiating its MSBT position, Morgan Stanley added new exposure to the Grayscale Solana Staking ETF (GSOL) and Fidelity Solana Fund (FSOL), worth about $4.25 million and $2.26 million, respectively.
Circle and Bitcoin miners gain ground
Morgan Stanley made an even larger move in Circle Internet Group (CRCL), the company behind the USDC stablecoin, with reported holdings increasing from about 1.46 million shares to 8.32 million shares.
The filing also showed substantial additions to several Bitcoin mining and infrastructure companies, including Cipher Digital (CIFR), Core Scientific (CORZ), Hut 8 (HUT) and Bitdeer Technologies (BTDR).
Not every crypto-linked position grew. Morgan Stanley reported about 550,000 fewer Coinbase (COIN) shares, cut its CleanSpark (CLSK) position by more than 3.1 million shares and fully exited a roughly 8 million-share Bitfarms (BITF) position.
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