In a significant move among major Wall Street banks, Morgan Stanley will soon allow its financial advisors to offer bitcoin ETFs to certain clients, CNBC reports bitcoin-etfs.html”>reportsStarting Wednesday, the firm's 15,000 advisors will be able to introduce BlackRock's iShares bitcoin Trust and Fidelity's Wise Origin bitcoin Fund to eligible clients.
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BREAKING: Morgan Stanley tells wealth advisors they can submit their projects twitter.com/hashtag/bitcoin?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#bitcoin
— bitcoin Magazine (@BitcoinMagazine) twitter.com/BitcoinMagazine/status/1819381387465527340?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>August 2, 2024
Morgan Stanley's move is in response to high demand for bitcoin from its clients. However, the bank remains cautious about bitcoin: Only clients with a net worth of at least $1.5 million, a high risk tolerance and an interest in speculative investments are eligible to apply for bitcoin ETFs, sources told CNBC. These investments are limited to taxable brokerage accounts, not retirement accounts. The bank will monitor clients' bitcoin holdings to prevent excessive exposure to the volatile asset class.
Other major banks, including Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, Bank of America and Wells Fargo, continue to restrict their advisors from promoting bitcoin ETFs unless clients explicitly request it, the report says.
This decision marks an important step towards institutional adoption of bitcoin in traditional finance. Morgan Stanley’s offering of these ETFs reflects the growing integration of bitcoin into traditional finance and sets a precedent for other wealth management firms to follow.
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