Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley buy $600 million in Bitcoin ETFs in Q2

Investing.com -- Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley invested more than $600 million in spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) during the second quarter of 2024, according to regulatory filings released on Wednesday. 

The filings, known as 13-Fs, provide insights into positions held by institutional investors at the end of each quarter.

Goldman Sachs reported that it acquired roughly $418 million in various bitcoin ETFs. The bulk of this investment was in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK ) iShares Bitcoin Trust (NASDAQ:IBIT ), with nearly 7 million shares valued at around $238 million as of June 30. 

The IBIT is the largest spot Bitcoin ETF by market capitalization, with $20 billion in assets under management.

The bank also held stakes in the Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin ETF, the Invesco Galaxy Bitcoin ETF (NYSE:BTCO ), and smaller positions in other bitcoin ETFs launched earlier in the year.

Morgan Stanley also favored BlackRock's spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF). As of June 30, the investment bank held over 5.5 million shares of the iShares Bitcoin Trust, valued at nearly $188 million, making it one of the top five shareholders of the ETF. 

Morgan Stanley had smaller holdings in the ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF (NYSE:ARKB ) and the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (NYSE:GBTC ). Notably, the bank made a big cut in its GBTC holdings, reducing it to about $148,000 from $269.9 million last quarter, according to its latest filing. 

Neither Goldman Sachs nor Morgan Stanley disclosed whether these positions were acquired on behalf of clients or for their own accounts.

While these filings suggest growing institutional interest in bitcoin ETFs, the regulated crypto products have primarily been dominated by retail investors, according to ETF issuers. 

Several hedge funds adjusted their bitcoin ETF holdings during the quarter. New York-based Hunting Hill Global Capital reduced its exposure to Grayscale and Fidelity ETFs but held an $18.32 million stake in the Bitwise Bitcoin ETF (NYSE:BITB ) and acquired a new $25.6 million position in BlackRock's ETF. 

Millennium Management LLC, another New York-based hedge fund, cut down its overall bitcoin ETF holdings from $2 billion in the first quarter to $1.15 billion by the end of June, while increasing its stake in the Bitwise ETF.

Source: Investing.com