US investment banking giant Morgan Stanley has reported a rise in crypto fund positions in the second quarter, with notable increases in holdings of BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT). The company also boosted its own Bitcoin trust products and exposure to other crypto-linked funds.
The increase in Morgan Stanley’s position in BlackRock’s IBIT from 13.4 million shares to around 16.5 million reflects a rise of over 23%. However, the value of this position fell by approximately 18% to $549 million from $667 million.
Morgan Stanley also significantly increased its exposure to other crypto-linked funds such as the Grayscale Bitcoin Mini Trust ETF (BTC), Bitwise Bitcoin ETF (BITB) and Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC). The company’s holdings in BTC rose nearly 138%, to about 4.02 million shares, while BITB and FBTC saw increases of around 57% and 38%, respectively.
Ether holdings also grew, 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) holding by about 26%, to 5.1 million shares.
Morgan Stanley added new exposure to the Grayscale Solana Staking ETF (GSOL) and Fidelity Solana Fund (FSOL), with a value of approximately $4.25 million and $2.26 million, respectively.
The company’s reported holdings in Circle Internet Group increased from about 1.46 million shares to 8.32 million shares, reflecting Morgan Stanley’s growing interest in the stablecoin market.
Additionally, Morgan Stanley saw increases in exposure to Bitcoin mining and infrastructure companies such as Cipher Digital (CIFR), Core Scientific (CORZ), Hut 8 (HUT) and Bitdeer Technologies (BTDR).
Written by Oliver Grant
Markets Desk
