Morgan Stanley to Offer Bitcoin ETFs to Wealthy Clients: CNBC

• Morgan Stanley is making the move in response to demands from its clients.

• The January approval of bitcoin ETFs raised hopes that they would attract the deep pockets of financial institutions to cryptocurrency.

• Large firms often have lengthy compliance and review processes to undertake before they approve funds to be offered to their clients.

Wall Street giant Morgan Stanley’s (MS) advisers will be able to offer bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded funds (ETFs) to wealthy clients starting Wednesday, according to CNBC.

Morgan Stanley is allowing its 15,000+ financial advisers to sell shares of BlackRock’s IBIT and Fidelity’s FBTC, CNBC reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter. Clients will need to have a net worth of at least $1.5 million.

January’s approval of spot bitcoin ETFs in the U.S. brought hopes the investment vehicles would attract the deep pockets of financial institutions to cryptocurrency. However, major companies like Morgan Stanley often have lengthy compliance and review processes to undertake before they approve funds to be offered to their clients.

The bank, which holds $1.5 trillion in assets under management (AUM), made the move in response to demand from clients, according to the report.

Morgan Stanley held $269.9 million of Grayscale’s Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) as of March 31, a sign that it may have planned to offer ETFs to clients at some point.

The bank did not immediately respond to CoinDesk’s request for comment.