Morgan Stanley Eyeing Bitcoin With Latest Acquisition
There is no denying that institutions and the big players have been the catalyst for this current crypto market cycle and that notion has been reaffirmed by Morgan Stanley’s latest acquisition.
According to reports, Morgan Stanley’s investment management arm boosted a stake in Bitcoin vehicle MicroStrategy Inc. to more than 10% late last year.
The move signifies a growing interest in crypto assets from major banks which are clearly paying more attention to the space.
Boom!
Morgan Stanley just filed an SEC form declaring they now own 792,627 shares (10.9%) of MicroStrategy.
They’ve increased their position by 360%, adding almost 650,000 shares since Q3 2020.
Even the banks want Bitcoin 👀 pic.twitter.com/SqvryJZu3t
— Kevin Rooke (@kerooke) January 8, 2021
Institutional Exposure Growing
According to Bloomberg, the bank unit held 792,627 shares of MicroStrategy by the end of December, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
MicroStrategy’s CEO, Michael Saylor, has been an outspoken proponent of Bitcoin investing more of the firm’s money into the asset in recent months, the report added.
He even publicly encouraged Elon Musk to make a similar move with Tesla’s money last month and his latest tweet needs no explanation;
“If you owned the most desirable asset in the universe, why would you ever sell it?”
MicroStrategy stock gained 37% this year as the cryptocurrency soared, compared with a 1.8% rise in the S&P 500, the report stated.
Major institutional funds such as Grayscale continue to grow in terms of assets under management. The firm’s latest tweet indicates that there are now $28.4 billion in AUM. Of that sum, 85% is held in the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust.
01/08/21 UPDATE: Net Assets Under Management, Holdings per Share, and Market Price per Share for our Investment Products.
Total AUM: $28.4 billion$BTC $BCH $ETH $ETC $ZEN $LTC $XLM $XRP $ZEC pic.twitter.com/Q0PPbXrnKS
— Grayscale (@Grayscale) January 8, 2021
It is clear that major banks and institutional-grade funds are viewing Bitcoin and digital assets as a hedge against a failing monetary policy by global central banks. As the Covid 19 pandemic shows no sign of slowing down, global money printers are literally ‘going brrr’ around the clock as governments scramble to keep their crumbling economies afloat.
Another ATH For Bitcoin
It is also unlikely that any of these major funds will be selling any Bitcoin anytime soon which is keeping the asset at record prices.
According to Tradingview.com, Bitcoin’s most recent all-time high was $42,000 during late trading on Friday, January 8. At the time of press, the asset had retreated slightly to trade at $39,800, up 3.6% on the day and 36% on the week.
