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. MEXC July TradFi Trading Shifts Toward AI Storage as SNDK Futures Volume Surges More Than 15x Times Polymarket Hires Former Uber Executive To Lead Growth Initiative Hyperliquid Turns to CFTC for Path Into U.S. Perpetual Futures Market Canadian Defense Tech Firm Jumps 92% as Government Revenue Boosts Margins MEXC's August 2026 Proof of Reserves Confirms User Assets Fully Backed as Reserve Ratios Remain Above 100% 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. The bank also opened positions in two Solana funds, holding roughly $4.25 million in Grayscale's Solana (CRYPTO: $SOL) Staking ETF and $2.26 million in Fidelity's Solana Fund.
JPMorgan also reported larger positions in both major cryptocurrencies. Its IBIT holdings climbed to about 10.4 million shares from 8.3 million, worth roughly $356 million at the end of June. Its position in BlackRock's Ether ETF rose more than fourfold to about 1.17 million shares.
JPMorgan also reported small positions in two XRP investment products after holding none in the previous quarter, alongside a new position in a Solana staking ETF.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
