Morgan Stanley raises BlackRock Bitcoin ETF stake by 23%

Morgan Stanley has increased its reported holding in BlackRock’s 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. Summary Morgan Stanley added roughly 3.04 million shares of BlackRock’s IBIT during Q2. Its IBIT position was valued at $549 million as of June 30. Holdings in BlackRock’s Ether ETF increased by 202% to 4.6 million shares. New positions included Morgan Stanley’s 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 BlackRock’s 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 Bitcoin’s 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 e...