Morgan Stanley invests $270 million in BTC ETF, becoming the largest holder of GBTC

Source: Blockchain Knight

Morgan Stanley disclosed in its Q1 2013 disclosure that it had invested $269.9 million in a spot BTC ETF through Grayscale’s GBTC.

According to Fintel data, the investment makes Morgan Stanley one of the largest holders of GBTC, second only to Susquehanna International Group’s $1 billion investment.

Morgan Stanley is also one of a number of global systemically important banks (G-SIBs) that have disclosed investments in spot BTC ETFs, including Royal Bank of Canada, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, BNP Paribas, and UBS.

Other companies have also disclosed investments in spot BTC ETFs.

On May 14, New York consulting firm Pine Ridge Advisers disclosed a $205.8 million investment in spot BTC ETFs, including $83.2 million in BlackRock's IBIT, $93.4 million in Fidelity's FBTC, and $29.3 million in Bitwise's BITB.

New York-based hedge fund management company Boothbay Fund Management disclosed a $377 million investment in spot BTC ETFs, including $149.8 million in IBIT, $105.5 million in FBTC, $69.5 million in GBTC, and $52.3 million in BITB.

In addition, alternative asset management company Aristeia Capital Llc disclosed a $163.4 million investment in IBIT on May 15, and Connecticut-based investment company Graham Capital Management disclosed a $98.8 million investment in IBIT and a $3.8 million investment in FBTC.

Hedge fund manager Crcm Lp disclosed $96.6 million in IBIT investments, and New York investment manager Fortress Investment Group LLC disclosed holdings of $53.6 million in IBITs.

The latest filings come ahead of the deadline for first-quarter 13F reporting, marking the end of the first quarter in which investors can buy most spot BTC ETFs.

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

Hougan called the trend a “historic scale of professional investor holdings” that had only been seen before with the launch of gold ETFs in 2004, which were considered the most successful ETF products at the time.

However, Hougan said that despite the influx of institutional money, retail investment still accounts for the largest portion of spot BTC ETF investment.

As of now, the assets under management of these ETFs are combined to be around $50 billion.