Traditional financial institutions, including major banks, continue to buy Bitcoin through ETFs. As first quarter filings continue to be made to the SEC, Morgan Stanley bank has been added to the companies holding Bitcoin.

According to the statement, the bank, which has been serving since 1935, holds $269.9 million Grayscale Bitcoin spot ETF (GBTC). With this purchase, the bank has become the second largest company holding GBTC shares. The first in this sense is Susquehanna International Group, a technology and investment company. This firm holds about $1 billion worth of GBTC shares.

Bitcoin spot ETF holders emerge one by one

As it is known, companies traded in the US have to report their quarterly figures to the SEC. And major firms, from banks to pension funds and many other companies, have already started to do so as of last week.

In addition to banks, New York-based consulting firm Pine Ridge Advisers announced that it bought BlackRock, Fidelity and Bitwise ETFs, while the Wisconsin Pension Fund bought a $100 million BlackRock ETF.

Boothbay Fund Management, a hedge fund company also based in New York, announced a $377 million Bitcoin spot ETF purchase.

“It looks like the wave in the gold ETF”

Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan said about the Bitcoin ETF wind: “By the time the May 15 filing deadline arrives, I suspect we may end up with 700+ professional firms and total AUM approaching $5 billion.”

Hougan compared this trend to the wave previously seen only in 2004 with the launch of gold ETFs.