[Blockchain Today Reporter Ji-Hye Han] Asia Economy reported that Morgan Stanley, a famous investment bank on Wall Street, is pushing to acquire Bithumb, a domestic cryptocurrency exchange.
According to a report citing the IB industry on the 19th, it was confirmed that Morgan Stanley is in the process of negotiating to acquire a stake in Bithumb through Bident. Bident owns a 10.3% stake in Bithumb Korea, which operates Bithumb Korea, and holds up to 34,24% stake in Bithumb Holdings, the largest shareholder of Bithumb Korea, and is currently the largest single shareholder in Bithumb’s equity structure.
A high-ranking official of Bithumb Holdings said, “Morgan Stanley participated in the Bithumb acquisition deal through M&A’s big hand A (the chairman of an entertainment company), who participated in the acquisition of Bithumb in the past.”
A source familiar with the Bithumb sale negotiations said, “The reason Morgan Stanley is through Bident is that it has recognized that Bident has the right to negotiate a preferred sale to acquire Bithumb Holdings.” If you sell or transfer Bithumb Holdings shares, you must obtain the consent of Bident.
Currently, it is known that there are eight companies that have jumped into the acquisition of Bithumb, including Morgan Stanley. The industry estimates that Bithumb’s corporate value reaches 2 trillion won.
Meanwhile, Morgan Stanley recently entered the cryptocurrency industry with the launch of the first bitcoin product among US investment banks.
According to CNBC, a US economic media outlet on the 17th, Morgan Stanley, whose assets under management alone are 4 trillion dollars (4500 trillion won), included bitcoin in a client’s wealth management portfolio for the first time. In other words, it creates a Bitcoin fund so that customers can invest.
“This is an important step toward accepting Bitcoin as an asset,” said an anonymous source. “Morgan Stanley has accepted the customer’s request.”
Morgan Stanley’s move is the first on Wall Street. For example, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, and Bank of America (BoA) are considering entering the bitcoin market, but direct investment in bitcoin is still prohibited.
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