Morgan Stanley, a leading investment bank, owned $269.9 million of Grayscale’s Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) as of March 31, as per the 13F filing.
The bank is not the only one making large investments in financial products linked to Bitcoin. During the first quarter, more major banks, including JPMorgan, Wells Fargo, and UBS, revealed their holdings in spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds.
Morgan Stanley started introducing spot bitcoin ETFs to its clients after their approval in January. However, clients had to start the investment proposals with their brokers because this was done in an unsolicited manner.
It is important to remember that these purchases are probably either made on behalf of the bank’s wealth management clients or are required for market-making and/or ETF-authorized participant duties; they do not necessarily reflect the banks’ opinions on the direction of bitcoin’s price.
Also Read: Morgan Stanley might let brokers offer Bitcoin ETFs
