Morgan Stanley Files for Bitcoin Exposure in 12 Funds

Some funds will have indirect bitcoin exposure through cash settled futures or investments in the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust, while others might have no exposure to bitcoin.

article-image

Source: Shutterstock

share

key takeaways

  • Each fund will be able to invest up to 25% of assets in bitcoin products
  • Two weeks ago it began offering two funds from Galaxy Digital and another joint effort between FS Investments and NYDIG

On Thursday Morgan Stanley filed for bitcoin exposure in several of its institutionally focused funds.

Some funds will have indirect bitcoin exposure through cash settled futures or investments in the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust, the privately offered investment vehicle that invests in bitcoin. Sometimes a fund might have no exposure to bitcoin. 

Each fund will be able to invest up to 25% of its assets in bitcoin products.

Among the 12 funds is Counterpoint Global, the $150 billion unit of Morgan Stanley Investment Management managed by Dennis Lynch, which was first reported to be considering investing in bitcoin in February.

The $4 trillion-asset Morgan Stanley has come out extremely bullish on bitcoin this year. Two weeks ago it began offering three funds (two from Galaxy Digital and another joint effort between FS Investments and NYDIG) to give its wealthy clients exposure to bitcoin, becoming the first major bank to do so. 

It was also an investor in NYDIG’s recent $200 million fund raise and in January it boosted its stake in MicroStrategy (which continues to buy bitcoin) by about 650,000 shares, as the price of bitcoin broke $40,000 for the first time.

Tags

Upcoming Events

Javits Center North | 445 11th Ave

Tues - Thurs, March 18 - 20, 2025

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

Industry City | Brooklyn, NY

TUES - THURS, JUNE 24 - 26, 2025

Permissionless IV serves as the definitive gathering for crypto’s technical founders, developers, and builders to come together and create the future.If you’re ready to shape the future of crypto, Permissionless IV is where it happens.

Old Billingsgate

Mon - Wed, October 13 - 15, 2025

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

recent research

Research Report Templates (4).png

Research

Even as the most performant, widely used blockchain today, Solana is still far from perfect, prompting some teams to iterate upon some design choices while maintaining compatibility at the SVM execution layer. This report analyzes three emergent SVM chains (Eclipse, Atlas, and Fogo) to understand the motivations behind the technical architectures, as well as the current state and future outlook.

article-image

Fundamental investors are turning to token buybacks

article-image

A Glassnode report found that the accumulation range for bitcoin is ‘weak,’ indicating a decline in demand

article-image

CEO Bam Azizi said he’ll only be seeking stablecoin-exclusive funding rounds from now on

article-image

Sponsored

WalletConnect is set to deepen its role by integrating with emerging standards and expanding its utility across different onchain sectors

article-image

Zeta Markets has shipped testnet for Bullet, a low-latency “network extension,” the team told Lightspeed exclusively

article-image

Having passed Congress, the resolution will now head to Trump’s desk