Global investment bank Morgan Stanley has increased its exposure to Bitcoin many times over by investing in Microstrategy, the Nasdaq-listed company that currently holds around 70,470 Bitcoins. Morgan Stanley now has a 10.9% stake in Microstrategy.
“Even banks want Bitcoin”
Global financial services company Morgan Stanley has significantly increased its exposure to Bitcoin, according to a report filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday.
Morgan Stanley has stated that it now owns 792,627 shares of Microstrategy. The Nasdaq-listed company has stacked Bitcoin for the past six months and now has around 70,470 Bitcoins in its treasury. At the current BTC price, Microstrategy’s bitcoin stash is worth almost $ 2.9 billion. Morgan Stanley’s investment represents a 10.9% stake in Microstrategy, whose share price recently rose to $ 531.64.
Morgan Stanley held 142,908 shares of Microstrategy in the third quarter, according to analyst Kevin Rooke. Commenting on the investment bank’s recent investment, he tweeted on Friday:
That’s a 455% increase from 142,908 stocks in the third quarter … Even banks want Bitcoin.
Microstrategy was the first major publicly traded company to make Bitcoin its primary reserve asset. Pro-Bitcoin CEO Michael Saylor said in December that his company has now “bought a total of 70,470 bitcoins for $ 1.125 billion at an average price of $ 15,964 per bitcoin.” Microstrategy’s bold move into BTC had resulted in Citigroup downgrading its stock to a sell rating. However, the market continued to favor the company as its stock price has risen nearly 86% since the downgrade and is up 25% since the start of the year.
Since Microstrategy’s big Bitcoin purchases, a number of other institutional investors have announced that they have also invested in BTC or plan to do so in the near future. These include Blackrock, Massmutual, Ruffer and Skybridge. Meanwhile, the Bitcoin price has repeatedly hit record highs. JPMorgan has predicted the price of the cryptocurrency could reach $ 146,000, while Guggenheim Investments sees Bitcoin worth $ 400,000.
What do you think of Morgan Stanley’s Bitcoin strategy? Let us know in the comments below.
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