Morgan Stanley to Invest More than $150 Billion in Bitcoin

Morgan Stanley’s investment arm Counterpoint Global, which is worth more than $150 billion, is planning to enter the crypto market. It reportedly has explored the feasibility of investing in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.

Counterpoint Global, led by Dennis Lynch, has expanded with a simple-sounding mantra of betting on unique companies whose market value can increase significantly.

“Counterpoint Global, one of our Active Fundamental Equity teams, seeks to make long-term investments in unique companies whose market value can increase significantly for underlying fundamental reasons. Their portfolios are typically concentrated and differentiated from their benchmarks. Counterpoint Global consists of 35 people, including 18 investment professionals and two disruptive change researchers. The team’s culture fosters collaboration, creativity, continued development, and differentiated thinking,” the official description of the fund states.

The final investment decision would require approval from Morgan Stanley and regulators. Should it get the green light, the company will secure its second investment in Bitcoin.

Morgan Stanley currently has an 11% stake in MicroStrategy, which is an intelligence company that holds 71,000 BTC.

Morgan Stanley has done a complete 180 with regard to Bitcoin. Back in 2017, James Faucette — an analyst at the company — claimed that BTC’s value could be zero. He also said that the leading cryptocurrency wasn’t a real asset and would never be as credible as gold.

Morgan Stanley Has Had A Shift In Sentiment Toward Cryptocurrency

Morgan Stanley has since had a sentiment shift. The company’s head of emerging markets and chief global strategist, Ruchir Sharma, declared that Bitcoin could eventually replace the U.S. Dollar.

Institutional investors have been betting big on BTC. Last week, major electric vehicle company Tesla revealed that it invested $1.5 billion in the digital asset and will soon accept it as a form of payment.

A massive accumulation by Grayscale and MicroStrategy additionally has increased the demand for BTC. Grayscale purchased 4,693 Bitcoin in the last 7 days and now holds over 653,000 BTC with a total worth of $31.94 billion.

At press time, Bitcoin was trading at just below $48,000 and nearly breached the $50,000 mark for the first time in its history — a milestone that seemed highly improbable several years ago.