According to latest SEC filing reports, Morgan Stanley increased its reported holding in BlackRock's spot Bitcoin ETF by 23% to approximately 16.5 million shares during the second quarter, adding roughly 3.04 million IBIT shares. JPMorgan made an even more dramatic expansion, quadrupling its IBIT stake to about 10.4 million shares from 8.3 million in the previous quarter. The notable development is that two Wall Street giants expanded crypto fund holdings during a quarter when digital asset prices weakened, making these filings particularly significant despite the challenging market conditions. Morgan Stanley's reported value declined by nearly 18% from around $667 million due to Bitcoin's price decline, while JPMorgan's position value increased significantly as reported by Benzinga.
Ethereum saw particularly sharp percentage increases across both major banks. Morgan Stanley more than tripled its BlackRock Ethereum ETF position to approximately 4.6 million shares, representing an increase of roughly 202% from the previous quarter. JPMorgan increased its stake in the same product more than fourfold to roughly 1.17 million shares from about 267,000 shares, with the position climbing more than quadrupling during the quarter. Both banks also broadened beyond Bitcoin and Ethereum, with Morgan Stanley reporting around 5.1 million shares of the Grayscale Ethereum Staking Mini ETF, an increase of roughly 26% from the previous quarter. Solana appeared prominently in the filings through Morgan Stanley's approximately $4.25 million in Grayscale Solana Staking ETF shares and about $2.26 million in the Fidelity Solana Fund. JPMorgan also added positions in Solana and XRP investment products, as reported by Benzinga.
Alongside the larger IBIT position, Morgan Stanley reported 2.57 million shares of its own Morgan Stanley Bitcoin Trust (MSBT), valued at approximately $43.3 million on June 30. The position was new because MSBT began trading during the second quarter on NYSE Arca on April 8 with an annual management fee of 0.14%. The product holds Bitcoin and seeks to follow its spot price after accounting for expenses and other liabilities. MSBT's fee came below the 0.25% charged by both BlackRock's IBIT and Fidelity's Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund, with the Grayscale Bitcoin Mini Trust charging 0.15%. This strategic preference for regulated crypto funds over crypto-related equities aligns with broader institutional trends seeking more straightforward and liquid access to digital assets.
As reported in the SEC filing, Morgan Stanley made one of its largest crypto-related additions in Circle Internet Group, the company behind the USDC stablecoin, with its reported position increasing from about 1.46 million shares in the first quarter to approximately 8.32 million shares at the end of Q2. The change represented an addition of about 6.86 million shares, leaving the reported position at more than 5.5 times its previous size. The bank also expanded positions across several Bitcoin mining and digital infrastructure companies, including Cipher Digital, Core Scientific, Hut 8, and Bitdeer Technologies.
According to the SEC filing, Morgan Stanley reported about 550,000 fewer Coinbase shares than it held at the end of March, while reducing its CleanSpark position by more than 3.1 million shares. The bank also removed Bitfarms entirely from its portfolio, having reported a position of roughly 8 million shares in the previous quarter before disclosing no corresponding holding on June 30. In July, Morgan Stanley completed its E*TRADE rollout, allowing eligible customers to buy, sell, and hold Bitcoin, Ether, and Solana for a 0.50% transaction fee through infrastructure provided by Zerohash. The reduction in Coinbase and other crypto stock positions may reflect concerns about valuation, regulatory pressures, or a strategic rebalancing as the bank navigates the evolving crypto landscape. Analysts caution that 13F filings include client and inventory positions and exclude shorts, so higher reported ETF holdings do not prove outright bullish bets by themselves, with the strongest conclusion being about portfolio activity rather than definitive bullish calls from either institution.
