Morgan Stanley, one of the world’s largest investment banks, is planning to enter the crypto market through its $150 billion investment arm. Counterpoint Global, a fund that makes investments in unique companies, is considering adding Bitcoin to its investment list.
According to a report by Bloomberg, Counterpoint Global is exploring the suitability of Bitcoin as an investment option. Citing people familiar with the matter, Bloomberg mentioned that the final investment decision would require approval from Morgan Stanley and regulators.
Counterpoint Global makes long-term investments in companies based on strong fundaments. The fund has a team of 35 people including Dennis Lynch as Head and Sam Chainani as Managing Director.
“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.
Morgan Stanley’s Bitcoin consideration did not come as a surprise as the financial firm recently boosted its stake in MicroStrategy, a company that holds more than 71,000 Bitcoin. Morgan Stanley now holds more than 790,000 shares of MicroStrategy.
Bitcoin and Institutional Bets
Institutional investors are betting big on the world’s largest cryptocurrency. Tesla’s $1.5 billion Bitcoin investment and a massive accumulation by Grayscale and MicroStrategy have increased the demand for BTC. Grayscale purchased 4,693 Bitcoin worth more than 220 million in the last 7 days. The asset manager now has more than 653,000 BTC with a total worth of $31.94 billion. Grayscale’s crypto assets under management crossed $38 billion for the first time yesterday.
The overall market cap of Cryptocurrencies reached another all-time high of $1.5 trillion on Sunday after the recent rally in Bitcoin and Ethereum. As of writing, BTC is trading near $47,000.
