Morgan Stanley Drops Bitcoin ETF Bombshell, Who’s Really Behind The Buying?

Morgan Stanley’s head of digital assets strategy, Amy Oldenburg, has said that Bitcoin ETF adoption is still in its early stages. This comes as the Wall Street giant also looks to offer a BTC ETF, two years after the first funds launched. 

Morgan Stanley Exec Says Bitcoin ETF Adoption Still In Early Stages

Speaking at the DC Blockchain Summit, the Morgan Stanley executive noted that most of the demand for the Bitcoin ETFs comes from self-directed investors, with many advisor-managed accounts yet to allocate to crypto. In line with this, Oldenburg declared that institutional crypto adoption is still ‘very early.’

She also revealed that 80% of the demand for ETFs on their platform comes from the self-directed business. Morgan Stanley currently allows all its wealth clients to invest in Bitcoin ETFs after removing restrictions last year. The bank has also notably recommended allocating up to 4% to crypto. 

Oldenburg’s comments that Bitcoin ETF adoption is still early explain why Morgan Stanley is still looking to launch a BTC ETF, two years after the first funds launched. The bank has notably filed for BTC, ETH, and SOL ETFs and is also set to roll out crypto trading for its retail clients this year. 

The Bitcoin ETFs have seen massive demand since their launch in 2024 and currently boast total net assets of $90.83 billion, according to SoSoValue data. This represents just over 6% of Bitcoin’s market cap. BlackRock’s BTC ETF is currently the largest with net assets of $55.19 billion. 

Morgan Stanley is also expected to see demand for its BTC ETF despite the late launch, especially given the bank’s large distribution channel. Bloomberg analyst Eric Balchunas commended Morgan Stanley’s move as smart. He noted that they have, like, $8 trillion in advisory assets and have already authorized their advisors to allocate to these funds, so it could well be an allocation to their branded funds. 

Top Institutional BTC ETF Holders

On-chain analyst Root recently highlighted the top 25 largest institutional Bitcoin ETF holders based on their Q4 filings, with Wall Street trading firm Jane Street ranking first, with total holdings worth around $5 billion. Susquehanna, Citadel Advisors, Millennium Management, and Goldman Sachs complete the top 5. 

BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, currently ranks 15th among the top institutional Bitcoin ETF holders. The firm’s BTC holdings are currently worth around $670 million. A positive is that these institutions continue to increase their allocations. Root revealed that 17 of the top 25 institutional holders increased their BTC position in the fourth quarter of last year. 

Related Reading: Analyst Says Bitcoin Price Is Showing Dangerous Weakness, Here’s Why

At the time of writing, the Bitcoin price is trading at around $70,600, down in the last 24 hours, according to data from CoinMarketCap.