Multinational investment bank and financial services firm Morgan Stanley reported in a Form 13F filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday that it has a significant position in BlackRock’s spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF).
As of June 30, Morgan Stanley said it owned more than 5.5 million shares of the iShares Bitcoin Trust (ticker: IBIT), worth $187.79 million, making the investment bank one of the ETF’s top five shareholders.
The bank also disclosed that it owns 26,222 shares of the ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF (ticker: ARKB), worth about $1.57 million, down slightly from the $2.3 million allocation it disclosed at the end of Q1.
It is worth noting that a recent report from Morgan Stanley shows that positions in Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (ticker: GBTC) total $148,000, which is almost a sell-off from the $269.9 million seen in the previous quarter.
A 13F report is a quarterly report filed with the SEC by institutional investment managers who manage at least $100 million in assets. The report shows the manager’s stock holdings at the end of each quarter, but does not disclose short positions.
IBIT is the largest spot Bitcoin ETF by market cap, with $20 billion in assets under management. On Tuesday Banking giant Goldman Sachs said it owns 6.9 million shares of the fund, worth $238.6 million.
Morgan Stanley held about $190 million worth of spot Bitcoin ETFs as of the end of the second quarter.
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About the Author
Jason is the U.S. News Editor for The Block. He previously worked as a staff writer and later as an editor at Benzinga, a financial news and data company. He led Benzinga’s daily market coverage and the publication’s expansion into cannabis, cryptocurrency, and sports betting verticals. He holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Central Michigan University and lives in the suburbs of Detroit, Michigan. Follow him on X @JasonShubnell.