Earlier in March this year, Morgan Stanley became the first major U.S. bank to offer its clients exposure to bitcoin via a trio of funds, one of which was jointly created by NYDIG and FS Investments. Its clients may soon have new options for investing in bitcoin. Good news for holders!
The fourth fund connected to Morgan Stanley
NYDIG (New York Digital Investment Group) is a financial services company dedicated to Bitcoin. Together with its partner FS Investments, they filed documents with the SEC this Tuesday to open a new Bitcoin investment fund exclusively dedicated to the superbank.
For the curious, these documents are publicly available in the archives of the SEC website. In particular, we can see the notion “Decline to Disclose” the amount involved.
As detailed in March, Morgan Stanley initially launched its BTC offering with 2 funds from Galaxy Digital and one from NYDIG/FS Investments. Since its launch, it has reportedly attracted nearly $30 million from investors. The new Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing thus indicates that this would be the fourth bitcoin fund in which Morgan Stanley will participate.
“What we’re doing is allowing ordinary Americans and businesses to buy bitcoin through their existing banking relationships. “
Patrick Sells, Head of Banking Solutions at NYDIG
Morgan Stanley was the first major U.S. bank to offer to sell bitcoin directly to its customers, but the funds have very high barriers to entry. For example, the minimum investment was set at $5 million to invest in the Galaxy Institutional Bitcoin Fund LP.
Bitcoin continues to attract public interest
Such funds allow companies and individuals to gain exposure to the price of bitcoin without directly owning the asset. The funds do this, more or less, by tracking the price of BTC and adding a management fee.
As evidenced by its slogan “Accelerating the Future of Finance,” NYDIG has been even more active on the crypto front. In May, it partnered with Fidelity National Information Services (FIS) to offer a deal that allows its customers to buy bitcoin directly from their regular bank accounts.
Morgan Stanley’s decision to open its funds to bitcoin has been seen by the crypto community as an important step toward mainstream acceptance of bitcoin. Moreover, the firm recently shared that it had decided to take the plunge, following strong requests from its clients seeking exposure to cryptocurrencies.
Wall Street firms have long been reluctant to consider bitcoin as an asset class in its own right. That’s why Morgan Stanley’s decision, to assume and reinforce its pro-bitcoin stance, is all the more significant. Whatever happens, the revolution is underway! Bitcoin will live it up in November of this year, with or without institutional investors.
