Morgan Stanley's spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund, the Morgan Stanley Bitcoin Trust (MSBT), has consistently purchased Bitcoin for three consecutive days, according to on-chain data from Arkham Intelligence. The purchases occurred while Bitcoin oscillated around the $64,000 level, raising questions about the motivation behind the bank's persistent accumulation during volatile trading conditions.
Arkham’s tracking revealed that MSBT added approximately 232.5 BTC on the latest day, valued at roughly $15.05 million, implying an average purchase price near $64,718 per coin. This lifted the fund’s total holdings above 6,500 BTC for the first time, reaching 6,563 BTC worth more than $426 million. The bank now holds an estimated $400 million to $426 million in Bitcoin through the ETF, a notable expansion from the $392 million in net assets reported as of late July.
The buying streak is part of a broader institutional trend. Arkham noted that other major funds—including BlackRock’s spot Bitcoin ETF which added about $111 million, Fidelity’s $33 million, and Franklin Templeton’s $9 million—also accumulated during the market dip on August 4. None of the tracked ETFs sold Bitcoin that day, signaling a coordinated institutional appetite for the asset when prices softened.
Morgan Stanley launched MSBT in April with a competitive 0.14% annual management fee, undercutting fees from BlackRock and Fidelity. The fund attracted $103 million in net inflows within its first eight days. The bank has also introduced Ethereum and Solana ETFs, described as among the cheapest of their kind, reinforcing a multi-asset crypto strategy. While Bitcoin remains below the short-term holder realized price of $67,523, the persistent ETF buying suggests institutional conviction, though some analysts debate whether it reflects long-term belief or tactical liquidity positioning.
