Morgan Stanley bets big on Bitcoin

American multinational investment bank Morgan Stanley has reported the acquisition of around 30,000 shares in the investment vehicle Grayscale Bitcoin Trust.

The move was made by the Morgan Stanley Europe Opportunity Fund – an investment arm that specialises in emerging and established companies valued below market rate. The investment makes Morgan Stanley the second-largest shareholder within Grayscale, behind only Cathie Wood’s ARK Investment Management.

The announcement was made through the September 27 publication of the bank’s regulatory filings. Previous filings from June indicate that its investment increased by more than 30,000 shares in one quarter.

Grayscale Bitcoin Trust, a leading institution in digital currency investment, holds more than $30bn worth of Bitcoin. It was announced earlier this year that the Trust intended to create its own Bitcoin Exchange Traded Fund.

This is a notable advancement from the position that Morgan Stanley held only earlier this year. Back in March, the bank published a note to customers warning them of the dangers of investing in cryptocurrencies, and advising caution.

Since that point, however, MS first increased exposure in June to approximately $800,000 worth of investment. Since then it has acquired yet more stock, reaching a value somewhere in the region of $2.4m.

It has also been a hugely successful year for Grayscale, whose value skyrocketed on the back of the NFT created Ethereum rally. In early September it was reported that Grayscale’s value had eclipsed that of Bahrain.

Across Morgan Stanley’s various institutional funds, this brings its total shares in Grayscale to approximately 6.5 million.