Morgan Stanley’s Executive Likens Bitcoin’s Resilience to Kenny Who Dies in Every South Park Episode

September 25, 2021 Bitcoin.com

Morgan Stanley exec says Bitcoin is the ‘Kenny from South Park’ of money

September 24, 2021 Coin Telegraph

Bitcoin

Morgan Stanley exec claims that Bitcoin continues to rise from the dead like the cartoon character Kenny in South Park.

Morgan Stanley's Dennis Lynch shared a light-hearted analogy during a discussion at Morningstar’s yearly investment conference today, claiming that Bitcoin’s insatiable ability to defy the odds and rise from both technical and fundamental adversity portrays that of the South Park cartoon character Kenny.

The 24-series show has garnered a global audience base for its weird and wacky sense of humour, epitomised by the long-standing gag that Kenny dies in each episode, only to be rebirthed and gleefully unaware of his brutal demise in the following show.

Head of asset management firm Counterpoint — a Morgan Stanley subsidiary — and keen advocate of the show, Lynch, expressed his belief in the resilience of leading cryptocurrency asset Bitcoin since inception over a decade ago.

After experiencing and surviving numerous bearish cycles, Bitcoin has established itself as a widely recognised and respected modern payment method and store of value in the mainstream market.

Major corporations such as Microstrategy, Tesla, and Galaxy Digital Holdings have all publicly revealed billion dollar investments in the asset, the latter now reporting an immense $5.3 billion.

In his Kenny-inspired speech, Lynch stated:

"I like to say that bitcoin's kind of like Kenny from South Park - he dies every episode, and is back again.”

Technical data from Cointelegraph Markets reveals that Bitcoin (BTC) has fallen 14.04% across the week in the wake of yet another Chinese crackdown on cryptos.

The People’s Bank of China, or PBoC, this week announced a fresh strategy to combat cryptocurrency adoption in the country. Legal and governmental departments will strive to improve coordination and communication practises to effectively suppress crypto-related activities.

However, according to Lynch, Bitcoin already possesses some of the same antifragile traits — witnessed in the monopoly of big-tech firms, burgeoning political establishment, capital-hungry Wall Street financial markets and the self-rejuvenating Greek mythological monster Hydra — to counter this.

"I think (bitcoin) demonstrates some 'antifragile' qualities during this period of time.”

The term antifragile was coined by esteemed author Nassim Nicholas Taleb in his 2012 book to express the definition for the opposite of fragility, in that something that gains from disorder.

In the book, Taleb wrote:

"Antifragility is beyond resilience or robustness. The resilient resists shocks and stays the same; the antifragile gets better.”

A well-documented example of this was Bitcoin's previous all-time high of $20,000, a seemingly insurmountable figure during the harsh bear market of 2018-19 — and especially following the pandemic's financial crash to $4K — but a level that one year on was more than tripled with $65,000.

Bitcoin ‘heavy breakout’ fractal suggests BTC price can hit $250-$350K in 2021

September 19, 2021 Coin Telegraph

$<div>Bitcoin 'heavy breakout' fractal suggests BTC price can hit 0-0K in 2021</div>$

Bitcoin

The analogy appeared in anticipation that Bitcoin could post a 2017-like bull run, in which the price rose by more than 1,900%.

Bitcoin (BTC) has the potential to push its prices to between $250,000 and $350,000 by the end of 2021, a long-standing fractal suggests.

First spotted by pseudonymous analyst Bit Harington, the bullish setup drew its inspirations from Bitcoin's secular bull runs every time after halvings when the miner block reward gets cut in half. Analysts perceive the halving as a bullish event, which reduced the supply of newly mined BTC.

Harington reminded that Bitcoin's prices surged by more than 600% after the first two halving events in 2012 and 2016 when measured from a so-called resistance/support (R/S) line, as shown in the chart below.

*Bitcoin price performance after the first two halving events. Source: BuyBitcoinWorldWide, PlanB, and Bit Harington*

The line represented a barrier during the period of price uptrend. Traders tested it for a breakout multiple times before successfully breaching it to log a new record high. When prices started correcting, they eventually bottomed out near the same line.

In 2020-2021, Bitcoin underwent a similar upside trajectory, bouncing from below $4,000 to rising to above $60,000. Again, Harington highlighted the $60,000-level as the same R/S line that kept trades from logging a clear bullish breakout.

BTW: From this perspective there's a "Bitcoin double top" after every halving. It wasn't really obvious after halving 2 (like the obvious double top after halving 1), but you can still see this double top in various indicators. Weekly RSI for example:https://t.co/lopvWPqd3v
— Bit Harington (@bitharington) September 19, 2021

The analyst hinted that Bitcoin would break above it to soar towards a new record price level.

Cointelegraph Markets analyst Michaël van de Poppe reacted to Harington's fractal theory, adding that it would lead the Bitcoin prices to the $250,000-$350,000 range.

He noted, however, that the massive run-up could also prompt a brutal correction that can push Bitcoin prices back toward $65,000, right near the Harington's S/R level of $60,000.

This makes a ton of sense and in line with my ideas too.

Somewhere 2017 we are. Heavy breakout to come at a later stage to ~$250-350K and then landing on $65K in the bear market for #Bitcoin. https://t.co/4XX7aDp2rs
— Michaël van de Poppe (@CryptoMichNL) September 19, 2021

Do fundamentals agree?

Bitcoin skyrocketed after crashing below $4,000 in March 2020 primarily due to the global central banks' loose monetary policies to curb the economic aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic. The cryptocurrency closed the year at around $30,000, as retail and institutional investors woke up to its safe-haven narrative against a falling U.S. dollar and rising inflation fears.

So far in 2021, the price of Bitcoin topped around $65,000 before correcting lower below $50,000. At its year-to-date (YTD) low, the pair traded for $29,301 on the Coinbase exchange. Its losses were led by a sudden ban on all crypto activities in China (including mining) and Elon Musk's alarming tweets over Bitcoin's booming carbon footprints.

*Bitcoin price performance throughout the history. Source: TradingView.com*

BTC balance on exchanges drops to fresh lows

The cryptocurrency held prices above $30,000 as its reserves across exchanges dropped significantly.

Blockchain data analytics service CryptoQuant reported that Bitcoin's balances across the crypto trading platforms slipped to around 2.37 million BTC last week, its lowest in more than a year.

*Bitcoin reserves across all exchanges. Source: CryptoQuant*

A decrease in Bitcoin reserves represents traders' intentions to hold the cryptocurrency instead of trading it for altcoins and fiat currencies.

Bitcoin hashrate has nearly recovered

Bitcoin's recovery from below $30,000 to almost $50,000 also coincided with its V-shaped hashrate recovery.

For the uninitiated, the Bitcoin network's computation power plunged to 84.79 million terahashes per second (TH/s) in early July from 180.66 million TH/s in late May. The drop surfaced as many miners responded to China's crypto crackdown by either shutting down their facilities or moving their operations abroad.

*The seven-day average Bitcoin hashrate in recent history. Source: Blockchain.com*

But the network recovered more than half of its lost hashrate, hitting 136.92 million TH/s on Sept. 18, indicating that China's direct ban did not have a prolonged effect on Bitcoin's mining sector.

The views and opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Cointelegraph.com. Every investment and trading move involves risk, you should conduct your own research when making a decision.

Morgan Stanley launches cryptocurrency research team

September 15, 2021 Coin Telegraph

Banks

After launching a Bitcoin investment tool for millionaires earlier this year, Morgan Stanley dives deeper into crypto.

Morgan Stanley, one of the largest banks in the United States, is setting up a new crypto-focused research division.

The Wall Street megabank has appointed Sheena Shah as lead cryptocurrency analyst for its dedicated cryptocurrency research team, Bloomberg reported on Sept. 13. Shah worked as Morgan Stanley’s lead currency strategist covering G10 currencies for more than eight years and contributed to the bank’s crypto-related research efforts.

In the new role, Shah will reportedly focus on analyzing the impact of cryptocurrencies on equities and fixed-income investments like treasury and corporate bonds.

Announcing the news in a memo to staff, Morgan Stanley’s executives stressed that the launch of a dedicated crypto research team “is in recognition of the growing significance of crypto currencies and other digital assets in global markets.”

As previously reported, Morgan Stanley has been pushing into digital assets over the past year, steadily growing its direct exposure to Bitcoin (BTC) through several investment funds by Grayscale Investments. In March, Morgan Stanley reportedly introduced a Bitcoin investment tool for millionaire clients.

The news comes as the traditional finance industry continues diving into crypto amid the parabolic growth of the cryptocurrency market. The total market value of all cryptocurrencies has added more than a trillion dollars over the past year, jumping from around $350 billion one year ago to $2.1 trillion at the time of writing.

Major U.S. banks have been rushing to establish crypto-related units recently, with Bank of America setting up a crypto research division in July. State Street, the second-oldest continuously operating U.S. bank, previously announced the launch of a dedicated digital finance division. Wall Street megabanks like JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs Group also rolled out crypto trading services this year.

Global Investment Bank Morgan Stanley Launches Dedicated Cryptocurrency Research Team

September 14, 2021 Bitcoin.com

Morgan Stanley Owns Over One Million Grayscale Bitcoin Shares

August 26, 2021 The Crypto Briefing

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July 1, 2021 Bitcoin.com

Morgan Stanley Reveals Stake in Grayscale Bitcoin Trust

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Morgan Stanley equity fund owns 28.2K shares of Grayscale Bitcoin Trust, per SEC

June 28, 2021 Coin Telegraph

Coin Telegraph

The investment bank reported owning a significant stake in GBTC as of April 30, according to a recent filing with the SEC.

Wall Street investment bank Morgan Stanley has gained exposure to Bitcoin (BTC) through Grayscale, offering further evidence of wider institutional acceptance of digital assets.

The Morgan Stanley Europe Opportunity Fund, which invests in established and emerging companies throughout Europe, owned 28,298 shares of the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust, or GBTC, as of April 30, according to a June 28 filing with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. At a current GBTC price of $29.68, Morgan Stanley’s exposure is worth roughly $840,000.

The exposure was worth over $1.3 million at the end of April, according to the filing.

Morgan Stanley's Europe Opportunity Fund is designed to seek maximum capital appreciation by investing in assets that "the investment team believes are undervalued at the time of purchase."

Grayscale is by far the world’s largest crypto asset manager, with $29 billion in assets under management. The Grayscale Bitcoin Trust accounts for the lion’s share of assets at over $21.7 billion.

06/25/21 UPDATE: Net Assets Under Management, Holdings per Share, and Market Price per Share for our Investment Products.

Total AUM: $29.0 billion$BTC $BCH $ETH $ETC $ZEN $LTC $XLM $ZEC $BAT $LINK $MANA $FIL $LPT pic.twitter.com/Oq4NzO4H90
— Grayscale (@Grayscale) June 25, 2021

As Cointelegraph reported, Morgan Stanley has been seeking more direct exposure to Bitcoin this year. In April, the investment bank added Bitcoin exposure to 12 investment funds through Grayscale and cash-settled futures. At the time, the Europe Opportunity Fund was not listed as a potential target for Bitcoin investments. However, the firm did include several "Opportunity" portfolios targeting Asia and global markets.

Earlier this month, Morgan Stanley made its first capital investment into blockchain by co-leading a $48 million Series B financing round for Securitize, a Coinbase-backed tokenization platform.

Coinbase-backed Securitize secures $48M in Series B funding

June 21, 2021 Coin Telegraph

Coinbase-backed Securitize secures M in Series B funding

asset tokenization

Morgan Stanley Tactical Value and Blockchain Capital have led a funding round for Securitize.

Morgan Stanley has made its first capital investment foray into the blockchain space, co-leading a $48 million funding for Securitize.

According to a release issued on Monday, the Coinbase-backed asset tokenization outfit has completed a Series B funding round that drew participation from Morgan Stanley Tactical Value-managed investment funds and Blockchain Capital.

Other participants in the funding round included Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank (SMTB), Emin Gün Sirer’s Ava Labs, and venture capital fund IDC Ventures, among others.

The oversubscribed Series B round also saw participation from previous Securitize backers like Ripple and Borderless Capital.

Monday’s Series B funding announcement comes barely a month after successfully closing a $12.75 million Series B funding round.

As with other Securitize capital raises, the Series B investors will receive their shares as digital assets issued by the firm. According to the release, the asset tokenization platform already has over 300,000 verified investors.

In March, Securitize collaborated with SMTB to launch Japan’s first “A-1” rated security token.

As part of its investment, Morgan Stanley Tactical Value co-head Pedro Teixeira will join the Board of Directors at Securitize.

Commenting on Morgan Stanley’s first blockchain investment, Teixeira was quoted in the announcement as saying that the investment bank was keen on assets with long-term potential, adding:

“Our investment in Securitize is a sign that we believe in the growth and adoption of digital asset securities.”

Securitize CEO Carlos Domingo also echoed Teixeira’s comments stating that VC funding for the company demonstrates the growing popularity of digital asset securities among legacy finance stakeholders.

As previously reported by Cointelegraph, Morgan Stanley introduced a Bitcoin (BTC) investment product for rich clients back in March. The $4 trillion wealth management giant in April expanded its BTC exposure for wealthy clients to 12 investment funds.

Morgan Stanley

Do fundamentals agree?

BTC balance on exchanges drops to fresh lows

Bitcoin hashrate has nearly recovered

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