The Grayscale Bitcoin Trust is by far the largest Bitcoin fund. A document is now being published that reveals a large share of the US bank Morgan Stanley in this fund.
According to current documents the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the major bank Morgan Stanley holds large shares in the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC). An anonymous Twitter user named MacroScope viewed the document already shared. This shows that over 30 Morgan Stanley funds hold large amounts of GBTC shares. The largest appears to be Morgan’s Insight Fund with over 928,051 shares valued at around $ 36 million, or over 700 Bitcoin (BTC).
But the Morgan Stanley Institutional Fund Inc, the Morgan Stanley Institutional Trust, the Morgan Stanley Variable Insurance Fund and others also have large amounts at their disposal. The BTC price slide from two months ago was used to expand positions. Because on June 28, 2021, when the price was still around USD 30,000, Morgan Stanley announced a large position on the GBTC through its Europe Opportunity Fund.
A few months earlier, the banking giant was the first US-based financial institution to offer Bitcoin funds to its customers. Since then, things have been steadily improving, and Morgan Stanley seems keen to further expand its involvement in the crypto industry. Therefore, the message about the distribution at the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust could certainly further heat up the market.
Other big banks are also showing Bitcoin commitment
Because with Wells Fargo, JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs there are other major US banks that are expanding their involvement in the crypto sector. Together with the great commitment of Morgan Stanley, 6 percent of the total BTC in circulation now belongs to institutional investors. According to Buy Bitcoin Worldwide 816,379 BTC worth $ 38.2 billion are currently held by 14 Bitcoin fund issuers and asset managers. This corresponds to 4 percent of the supply of the largest cryptocurrency in terms of market capitalization. Of these 816,379 BTC, the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust alone holds 654,600 BTC. It is believed, however, that access to at least a fifth of all Bitcoin has been lost due to forgotten passwords, etc. That would mean asset managers and corporations control an even larger share of the supply.
MicroStrategy occupies a special position among the listed companies. Since the beginning of July this year, it has added 3,907 Bitcoin to its stash and now holds 108,992 BTC, valued at $ 5.3 billion. The electric car manufacturer Tesla, which has discontinued the purchase function with Bitcoin, but still accounts for 20 percent of the Bitcoin held by private companies, is far behind.