Crypto News
| Published On Aug 28, 2021 7:20 am CEST  |  Updated on Oct 27, 2021 2:58 pm CEST | By Peter Siu

Morgan Stanley Holds $255 Million Worth of the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust

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As per SEC filings from Morgan Stanley on Thursday, the financial giant has bought over 6.5 million shares of Grayscale Bitcoin Trust spread over more than dozen funds. With a single share price of $39.15, this adds up to about $255 million of exposure in GBTC. With the investment, Morgan Stanley is now the second-largest known holder of GBTC after Cathie Wood‘s ARK Investment Management. ARK holds owns over 9 million shares worth $350 million at the time of writing.

Grayscale’s Bitcoin Trust is ‘traditionally’ held by hedge funds and asset managers. However, the investment bank, controlling larger piles of cash, have so far stayed away. It is not the first time Morgan Stanley dabbled in the market as it had previously invested in 28,000 GBTC shares for its Europe Opportunity Fund. Obviously, the latest addition of 6.5 million shares just shatters that number.

Grayscale Bitcoin Trust is an ideal investment opportunity for people who want exposure to Bitcoin in their portfolios but want to mitigate some of the risks and hassle that come from holding or managing the cryptocurrency. Most notably, the holding and securing of private keys. GBTC closely follows the price of Bitcoin.

To get in on the Trust, investors must invest a minimum of $50,000, pay a 2% fee, and hold on to their shares for at least six months before they can then let go of them. Shares are traded on over-the-counter marketplace OTCQX.

GBTC shares are known to trade for much higher (premium) or lower (discount) than the cost of the digital asset it is tracking. According to data from YCharts, GBTC is currently offering traders a discount of 13% discount.

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So far the Bitcoin trust has accrued over $31 billion in assets under management, excluding additional $9 billion in other crypto-based trusts.

Peter Siu

Peter is a former poker-pro, turned crypto enthusiast with 8+ years’ experience in operational roles dealing with all online gaming verticals within large iGaming companies, including Flutter and Entain. Now an expert in the field of Sports Betting, Casino, iGaming, and Poker, he is our team leader and editor. When not working, Peter can be found in the gym or playing sports like football, tennis and more recently padel.