Morgan Stanley allows advisors to offer Bitcoin ETFs to clients
Morgan Stanley has become the first major Wall Street bank to allow its financial advisors to offer Bitcoin exchange-traded funds to its clients.
More than 15,000 of the bank's financial advisors are in the process of offering Bitcoin ETFs to eligible Morgan Stanley clients starting August 7, 2024.
According to CNBC Report On Friday, Morgan Stanley's 15,000 financial advisors will be able to offer Bitcoin ETFs to the bank's e-clients starting August 7. It would be the first Wall Street banking giant to take this step amid growing interest in the bank.
According to the report, the US-based wealth management giant has approved two funds for its clients to deploy – BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) and Fidelity's Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC).
However, while Morgan Stanley allows advisors to request these ETFs for clients, they are only accessible to those who qualify. For example, only clients with a net worth of $1.5 million or more, who demonstrate risk tolerance and want to invest in speculative investments are eligible.
The bank allows these Bitcoin ETF investments in clients' taxable brokerage accounts, not their retirement accounts.
Fun fact: Morgan Stanley Advisors manages $5.7 trillion in client assets.
And next week, their 15,000 advisors will introduce qualified clients to BlackRock and Fidelity's #Bitcoin ETFs 🚀 pic.twitter.com/QTA0xHvxMo
— Bitcoin Magazine (@BitcoinMagazine) August 2, 2024
Spot Bitcoin ETFs Market
IBIT and FTBC are among 11 exchange-traded funds approved for trading by the US Securities and Exchange Commission in January 2024. These spot ETFs allow investors to buy and trade products that track the market performance of the world's largest digital asset, Bitcoin.
Like other spot crypto ETFs, IBIT and FBTC provide an investment vehicle for those seeking exposure to Bitcoin in an easily accessible and tradable structure.
US spot Bitcoin ETFs hold a total of $57.2 billion in net assets so far, while accumulated net inflows were $17.5 billion as of Friday, August 2, the data showed.
According to SoSoValue data, the spot Bitcoin ETFs saw more than $237 million in net inflows on Aug. 2, 2024, with more than $104 million coming out of Fidelity's IBIT. Greyscale's GBTC has seen over $45.9 million withdrawn.
On the other hand, BlackRock's IBIT recorded revenue of $42.8 million. Greyscale's Bitcoin Mini Trust (BTC), which went live on the NYSE Arca this week, recorded over $9.8 million in revenue.
