Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan Increase Crypto ETF Holdings in Q2

Major US banks Morgan Stanley (NYSE: $MS) and JPMorgan (NYSE: $JPM) increased their holdings of cryptoinvestment products in the second quarter, adding to their exposure to Bitcoin (CRYPTO: $BTC) and Ethereum (CRYPTO: $ETH) ETFs despite market volatility during the period.

Morgan Stanley increased its holdings of BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT) by 23% from the previous quarter. The investment bank held about 16.5 million IBIT shares at the end of June, up from 13.4 million three months earlier, according to a Form 13F filing submitted to the US Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday.

Despite the larger position, its reported value fell to about $549 million from $667 million as Bitcoin price declined during the quarter.

Morgan Stanley also reported 2.57 million shares of its own Morgan Stanley Bitcoin Trust, valued at roughly $43.3 million. The product began trading in April.

The bank increased holdings across other Bitcoin ETFs, including Grayscale's Bitcoin Mini Trust and Bitwise's Bitcoin ETF. Its position in Fidelity's Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund also rose nearly 38%.

Ether exposure grew more sharply in percentage terms. Morgan Stanley increased its holdings of BlackRock's iShares Ethereum Trust ETF by about 202% to 4.6 million shares, while its position in Grayscale's Ethereum Staking Mini ETF rose 26% to 5.1 million shares.