Morgan Stanley has officially begun pitching shares of two exchange-traded bitcoin funds - with some 15,000 financial advisors given the green light to recommend BlackRock's IShares Bitcoin Trust and Fidelity's Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund to clients.
That said, the firm will only allow clients with a net worth of at least $1.5 million, a high risk profile, and an interest in speculative investments to take part in the ETFs, and will only be allowed in taxable brokerage accounts vs. retirement accounts, according to CNBC.
Morgan Stanley made the move in response to demand from clients and in an attempt to follow an evolving marketplace for digital assets, said the people, who declined to be identified speaking about the bank’s internal policies.
The bank will monitor clients' bitcoin holdings to prevent 'excessive exposure' to the asset class.
In January, the SEC approved applications for 11 spot bitcoin ETFs, marking the arrival of an investment vehicle for bitcoin that's far easier for normie boomers to access than figuring out how to directly own the digital asset.
Meanwhile, other major banks such as Goldman, JPMorgan, Bank of America, and Wells Fargo continue to restrict their advisers from pitching bitcoin ETFs - only allowing clients access if explicitly requested.
Morgan is also observing a slew of newly approved ETFs - which means the bank may also consider adding some of the new Ethereum offerings for clients if the BTC ETFs do well.
As Bitcoin Magazine notes, the bank's decision marks a 'significant step' towards institutional adoption of bitcoin in traditional finance, and "Morgan Stanley made the move in response to demand from clients and in an attempt to follow an evolving marketplace for digital assets, said the people, who declined to be identified speaking about the bank’s internal policies."
