As the crypto market continues to gain traction, Morgan Stanley, a Wall Street titan, is reportedly taking a closer look at Bitcoin Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs). According to insiders, the firm is currently conducting due diligence on these financial instruments, as reported by CoinDesk.
Morgan Stanley: A Potential Pioneer in Crypto ETFs
If Morgan Stanley gives green light to these Bitcoin ETFs, it would become the first large registered investment advisor (RIA) network and broker-dealer platform to do so. This could potentially set the stage for other major players like Merrill Lynch and Wells Fargo to follow suit, supercharging inflows into the crypto market.
Unfortunately, Morgan Stanley has remained tight-lipped and declined to comment on this matter when approached by Fortune.
As Bitcoin inches closer to its all-time high of $69,000, Vetle Lunde, a senior analyst at K33, suggests that “opening the floodgates through more access points could support further buoyancy for Bitcoin.”
Surge in U.S. Spot Bitcoin ETFs
The crypto market witnessed a record-breaking event recently, as the 10 U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs currently being traded reached a new record for daily trading volumes. According to Bloomberg data, these ETFs saw over $7.6 billion in activity. In addition, BlackRock’s ETF iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) experienced an inflow of $520 million, marking the largest daily inflow to date.
Eric Balchunas, a Bloomberg analyst, expressed his thoughts on this trend via a tweet, stating that “wirehouse platforms are seriously looking at adding them soon.” He added that due to the increasing ETF inflows, these platforms might have to expedite their decision-making processes.
Implication for Bitcoin
According to Bloomberg analyst James Seyffart, these networks and platforms are the addressable market that Bitcoin ETFs aim to tap into. Seyffart believes that in due course, the majority of these platforms, if not all, will approve these financial instruments.
Morgan Stanley, with over $150 billion in assets under management, was the first major bank to offer its clients access to Bitcoin through a pair of external crypto funds in 2021. These funds were provided by Galaxy Digital and NYDIG for qualified investors.
If platforms like Morgan Stanley decide to list these ETFs, this could have significant implications for Bitcoin’s trajectory, according to Andy Baehr, head of product at CoinDesk Indices. Baehr believes that the educational element will be the most critical long-term consequence, as advisors can discuss Bitcoin during their regular work hours and consider how it can contribute to portfolios on such large scales.
In conclusion, with the crypto market’s continuous growth and major players like Morgan Stanley showing interest, the future of Bitcoin ETFs seems promising. As more and more platforms start to list these ETFs, Bitcoin’s trajectory could take a significant turn, making it more mainstream and accessible to all.
For more insights, visit the CoinDesk or Bloomberg websites for regular updates on the crypto market.
