Morgan Stanley Authorizes Advisors To Offer Bitcoin ETF Products, Report
August 02 2024 - 10:30PM
NEWSBTC
Morgan Stanley, one of the largest investment banks in the United
States, has announced that it will soon allow its 15,000 financial
advisors to offer Bitcoin ETF (exchange-traded fund) products to
eligible clients. Interestingly, this is the first time a
major Wall Street bank has given its wealth management division the
green light to promote crypto-based investment products. Bitcoin
ETF Exposure For High-Net-Worth Investors According to a CNBC
report, sources familiar with the policy change said that Morgan
Stanley will allow its advisors to urge clients to buy shares of
two specific Bitcoin ETFs – BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust
(IBIT) and Fidelity’s Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC). The new
offering will reportedly go live on Wednesday, August 7. Related
Reading: PEPE Bullish Trend Line Under Threat: $0.00000766 Level On
Sight? Morgan Stanley’s decision reflects growing investor demand
for exposure to the cryptocurrency market. The firm noted that the
move is a response to its clients’ appetite, as well as an effort
to stay ahead of the booming digital asset landscape. However,
Morgan Stanley is taking a cautious approach with its Bitcoin ETF
rollout. The bank is restricting eligibility to clients with a net
worth of at least $1.5 million, an “aggressive” risk tolerance, and
the desire to make speculative investments. Additionally,
CNBC reported that Bitcoin exchange-traded funds will only be
available in taxable brokerage accounts, not retirement accounts.
The bank will also closely monitor clients’ overall crypto holdings
to ensure they do not become overly exposed to the highly volatile
asset class. Currently, the only crypto investments approved
for purchase at Morgan Stanley are the two Bitcoin ETFs and private
funds from Galaxy and FS NYDIG, which were made available starting
in 2021. BTC Trading Volumes Spike 25% According to data from SoSo
Value, the total net inflow for Bitcoin spot ETFs on Thursday
reached $50.64 million. This was driven by a significant $191
million net inflow into the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust mini ETF, as
well as a $25.9 million net inflow into BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF.
However, the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust’s primary ETF (GBTC) saw a net
outflow of $71.3 million on the same day. Related Reading: Cardano
Goes Toe-To-Toe With Ethereum As Whales Scoop Up 120 Million ADA
After opening the week at around $70,000, the Bitcoin price pulled
back steadily over the course of last week to the $62,750 level on
Friday. This retracement prevented Bitcoin from consolidating above
the key resistance level of $70,000, which is crucial on BTC’s path
back to its all-time high of $73,700 reached in mid-March. Despite
this, there were signs of underlying strength, as CoinGecko data
showed a 25% increase in Bitcoin’s 24-hour trading volume, reaching
$46.9 billion. Featured image from DALL-E, chart from
TradingView.com
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