Morgan Stanley is reportedly jumping on board with Bitcoin ETFs.
Some 15,000 Morgan Stanley advisers were told they can start guiding clients’ purchase of shares in BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust and Fidelity’s Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund, CNBC reported based on anonymous sources.
The reported policy switch by Morgan Stanley — the sixth largest US bank — comes as crypto investors have been betting big on Donald Trump winning the presidency in November, hoping the former president will relax industry regulations if he gains the White House.
In January, the SEC approved applications for 11 spot bitcoin ETFs. The move made it easier for people to invest in a Bitcoin ETF from the same place they manage their other stocks, and gave investors a crypto vehicle that can be more readily traded.
Most Wall Street giants – including Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, Bank of America and Wells Fargo – have banned their financial advisors from pitching Bitcoin ETFs, the report said.
Morgan Stanley’s reversal is a response to client demand and an attempt to keep up with a changing industry, anonymous sources told CNBC.
The policy change is not without its terms. Financial advisors can only approach clients with a net worth of at least $1.5 million, a high risk tolerance and a desire to make speculative investments for the new Bitcoin ETFs, sources told CNBC.
The Bitcoin ETFs are meant for taxable brokerage accounts, not retirement accounts, and the bank will monitor clients’ crypto holdings so they are not exposed to high volatility, sources told CNBC.
In 2021, Morgan Stanley became the first major US bank to offer Bitcoin funds to its clients.
The bank phased out private funds from Galaxy and FS NYDIG earlier this year, according to CNBC.
