Morgan Stanley raises BlackRock Bitcoin ETF stake by 23%
Morgan Stanley has increased its reported holding in BlackRocks spot Bitcoin ETF by 23% to about 16.5 million shares while adding exposure to Ether, Solana, and several crypto-linked companies during the second quarter. SummaryMorgan Stanley added roughly 3.04 million shares of BlackRocks IBIT during Q2.Its IBIT position was valued at $549 million as of June 30.Holdings in BlackRocks Ether ETF increased by 202% to 4.6 million shares.New positions included Morgan Stanleys Bitcoin fund and two Solana investment products. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing signed on Aug. 11 showed that Morgan Stanley held about 16.5 million shares of BlackRocks iShares Bitcoin Trust, up from approximately 13.4 million shares at the end of the first quarter. The addition of roughly 3.04 million IBIT shares represented a quarterly increase of about 23%. However, the reported value of the position fell by nearly 18%, from around $667 million to $549 million, as Bitcoins price declined during the three months ended June 30. Morgan Stanley submitted the report as a combination Form 13F covering positions held by several related managers. The Q2 regulatory filing contained 45,905 entries with an aggregate reported value of about $1.89 trillion. A Form 13F provides a quarter-end view of certain U.S.-listed securities held