Morgan Stanley Files to Receive BTC Exposure of up to 25% for a Dozen Funds

Shortly after announcing plans to enable its institutional customers access to the first-ever cryptocurrency, Morgan Stanley has doubled down by filing documents with the SEC to allow 12 of its funds to gain BTC exposure through the Grayscale’s Bitcoin Trust or cash-settled futures. 

• CryptoPotato reported back in February that a unit of Morgan Stanley Investment Management called Counterpoint Global explored whether or not to enable its investors to receive access to BTC. 
• According to a document filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission from yesterday, the giant US multinational investment bank has sought approval for bitcoin purchases for that precise fund and 11 others. Some of the other names include Advantage Portfolio, Asia Opportunity Portfolio, Growth Portfolio, and Inception Portfolio. 
• Those funds could receive exposure to BTC indirectly through cash-settled futures or through investments in the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC). If the funds indeed invest in BTC futures or GBTC, they will “do so through a wholly-owned subsidiary, which is organized as an exempted company under the laws of the Cayman Islands.” 
• The filing also revealed the extent to which each fund may receive the BTC exposure, reading that they could “invest up to 25%” of the total assets.  
• Earlier in March, Morgan Stanley announced that it would start offering its institutional clients access to three regulated bitcoin funds as the demand for the primary cryptocurrency was rapidly increasing. 
• Shortly after, reports emerged that the giant bank planned to buy a major stake in the largest South Korean cryptocurrency exchange – Bithumb. 

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