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Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) informed its large team of financial advisors that it will soon permit them to offer bitcoin (BTC-USD) exchange-traded funds to certain clients, setting a precedent as the first major Wall Street bank to do so, according to a Friday media report.
Specifically, the firm's roughly 15K wealth advisors will be able to recommend shares of BlackRock's (BLK) iShares Bitcoin Trust (NASDAQ:IBIT) and Fidelity's Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (BATS:FBTC), CNBC reported, citing people with knowledge of the matter. With bitcoin (BTC-USD) climbing 46% this year, the two bitcoin-tracking funds each gained about 35%.
In January, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission approved ETFs investing directly in bitcoin (BTC-USD), providing market participants with access to the world's largest cryptocurrency through easily tradable instruments.
The move from Morgan Stanley (MS) was made to address client demand and adapt to the evolving digital-asset market, the people told CNBC. Caution still prevails, though, as only risk-seeking clients with a net worth of at least $1.5M would be well-suited for bitcoin (BTC-USD) ETF promotion, they added.
In Friday morning trading. bitcoin (BTC-USD) edged up 0.7% to $64.3K, capping a week in which the token is on track to slide 5.7%.
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