Author: Suzanne McGee, Reuters; Translated by: Wuzhu, Jinse Finance
Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley (MS.N) together bought more than $600 million of spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the second quarter, regulatory filings showed on Wednesday.
The two banks join a group of hedge funds and financial advisers that will begin trading the products in January 2024.
Goldman Sachs said in its quarterly disclosure filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that it has spent about $418 million to acquire several recently launched ETFs tied to the spot price of bitcoin.
Much of that money reflects Goldman's stake of nearly 7 million shares in iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT.O), valued at about $238 million at the end of the quarter on June 30. Goldman also holds large stakes in the Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin ETF and the Invesco Galaxy Bitcoin ETF (BTCO.Z), and has smaller positions in several other bitcoin ETFs launched in January.
Morgan Stanley also favors BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin ETF, disclosing a 5.5 million-share stake worth $188 million as of June 30. The bank also disclosed smaller holdings in the Ark 21Shares Bitcoin ETF (ARKB.Z) and Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC.P).
13F filings are one of the few ways to get a glimpse into institutional investors’ holdings at the end of each quarter. Positions may not reveal current holdings.
While the latest round of filings suggests that the number of institutions involved in bitcoin ETFs may be growing, ETF issuers and analysts say the products have so far been dominated by individual investors.
The banks could not be reached to ask whether their holdings were purchased on behalf of clients or for each firm’s own account.
Some hedge funds that took positions in bitcoin ETFs earlier this year adjusted their holdings in the second quarter, the filings show.
New York-based Hunting Hill Global Capital cut its holdings in Grayscale and Fidelity ETFs, but as of June 30, it held an $18.32 million stake in the Bitwise Bitcoin ETF (BITB.P) and acquired a new $25.6 million position in BlackRock's ETF.
Adam Guren, founder and CEO of Hunting Hill, said his company is an active trader in bitcoin products. “At any given time, our trading activity may change, and therefore our positions may change,” he said.
New York-based Millennium Management LLC disclosed that it cut its positions in three of the five bitcoin ETFs it held in the first quarter, while keeping its position in the Ark 21Shares ETF unchanged and increasing its holdings in Bitwise products to nearly 2 million shares from about 1.2 million at the end of the first quarter.
Overall, the hedge fund had about $1.15 billion invested in bitcoin ETFs at the end of the second quarter, down from $2 billion disclosed at the end of the first quarter. A spokesman for the company declined to comment.
Bitcoin prices are down 12% this quarter.
