Morgan Stanley, in its first-quarter disclosure in 2013, revealed that it had invested $269.9 million in the Grayscale GBTC Bitcoin ETF.
According to Fintel data, this investment made Morgan Stanley one of the largest holders of GBTC, second only to Susquehanna International Group’s $1 billion investment.
Morgan Stanley is also one of several globally significant banks (g-sibs) that have disclosed investments in the GBTC Bitcoin ETF. Other banks include Royal Bank of Canada, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, BNP Paribas, and UBS Group.
Other companies have also disclosed investments in the GBTC Bitcoin ETF.
On May 14th, New York consulting firm Pine Ridge Advisers disclosed a $205.8 million investment in the GBTC Bitcoin ETF, with investments of $83.2 million in BlackRock’s IBIT, $93.4 million in Fidelity’s FBTC, and $29.3 million in Bitwise’s BITB.
New York-based hedge fund management company Boothbay Fund Management disclosed a $377 million investment in the GBTC Bitcoin ETF, including investments of $149.8 million in IBIT, $105.5 million in FBTC, $69.5 million in GBTC, and $52.3 million in BITB.
In addition, alternative asset management company Aristeia Capital LLC disclosed a $163.4 million investment in IBIT on May 15th, and investment firm Graham Capital Management, headquartered in Connecticut, disclosed investments of $98.8 million in IBIT and $3.8 million in FBTC.
Hedge fund management company Crcm Lp disclosed a $96.6 million investment in IBIT, and investment management firm Fortress Investment Group LLC, based in New York, disclosed holdings of $53.6 million in IBIT.
The latest filings were submitted before the deadline of the first-quarter 13F reports, signaling the end of the first quarter for most GBTC Bitcoin ETFs.
Matt Hougan, Chief Investment Officer of Bitwise, commented on the recent wave of filings, estimating that by the May 15th deadline, over 700 professional firms would have invested nearly $5 billion.
Hougan described this trend as a “historic scale of professional investor ownership,” similar to when the gold ETF was launched in 2004, which was considered the most successful ETF product at the time.
However, Hougan stated that despite the influx of institutional funds, retail investors still make up the largest portion of investments in the GBTC Bitcoin ETF.
As of now, the total assets under management for these ETFs amount to approximately $50 billion.
