Morgan Stanley to consider Bitcoin for $150 billion investment wing

According to a report from Bloomberg news this morning, Morgan Stanley is the latest major financial institution to consider an investment in Bitcoin. 

Citing “people with knowledge of the matter,” the report says that Cointerpoint Global, a subsidiary of Morgan Stanley Investment Management with $150 billion in assets under management, “is exploring whether the cryptocurrency would be a suitable option for its investors.”

Morgan Stanley’s website describes Counterpoint Global as a fund specializing in investments “whose market value can increase significantly for underlying fundamental reasons.” The fund is up 72.7% on the year, significantly outperforming the MSCI All Country World Net Index returns of 16.25%.

The growing interest in Bitcoin shouldn’t necessarily come as a surprise, given that the company has made significant investment in Microstrategy. In Janurary, Cointelegraph reported that Morgan Stanley had purchased a 10% stake in Microstrategy, whose stock has been on a tear and whose CEO has become a Bitcoin icon since announcing a strategic investment in Bitcoin last year.

Morgan Stanley isn’t the only major banking institution looking to get involved with cryptocurrencies, either. On their q4 earnings calls, both JP Morgan and Visa reaffirmed plans to maintain crypto payment services, and representatives of both companies expressed interest in further development if clients and market conditions demanded.