Morgan Stanley owns $187 million in BlackRock’s IBIT

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Wall Street titan Morgan Stanley held about $187 million of BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) as of June 30, according to a recent 13F filing shared by MacroScope. The amount is equivalent to more than 5.5 million IBIT shares.

The investment positions the bank alongside other major IBIT holders such as Millennium Management, Capula Management and Goldman Sachs, which recently disclosed a $400 million investment in spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), including approximately 238 of millions of dollars in IBIT.

Earlier this month, Morgan Stanley announced that it will allow its 15,000 financial advisors to recommend spot Bitcoin ETFs to select high-net-worth clients starting August 7. The two products are BlackRock’s IBIT and Fidelity’s Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC).

John Reed Stark, a former SEC official and noted cryptosceptic, expressed concern about the compliance challenges the move could entail.

“In unleashing its legion of 15,000 brokers to launch Bitcoin, Morgan Stanley has just voluntarily submitted to what will likely become the largest SEC and FINRA scrutiny in history,” Stark said.

He further warned: “Identifying violations will be like shooting fish in a barrel.”

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