New York-headquartered international bank Morgan Stanley extended its indirect Bitcoin exposure by adding over one million Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) shares worth about $40 M at the moment.
Related: Morgan Stanley Offers Wealthier Clients Access to BTC Funds
The institution filed the purchase filing with the SEC on August 25. As the report shows, Morgan Stanley bought the shares through different portfolios. With the move, the institution becomes the second-largest holder of GBTC coming after ARK Investment, which holds over 9 million shares.
The first time Morgan Stanley announced acquiring GBTC shares was this July. The SEC filing shows that the purchase took place in April when the institution acquired 28,289 shares via its Europe Opportunity Fund.
GBTC is an investment vehicle that tracks the BTC price and allows people to get exposure to the cryptocurrency in their portfolios without the need for private keys. According to the latest update, Grayscale manages over $30.7 B worth of Bitcoins under management. The total AUM of Grayscale’s crypto trusts stands at above $42.6 B. Established in 2013, Grayscale now is the world’s largest digital currency asset manager.