Morgan Stanley Considers Adding Bitcoin ETFs to Brokerage Services

Morgan Stanley is currently in the process of determining whether to include spot bitcoin ETFs in its offerings to the vast clientele of its brokerage platform. Since the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) greenlit the introduction of these ETFs in January, there has been a growing buzz about their potential impact on the investment landscape, especially with the anticipated participation of large broker-dealers and registered investment advisor (RIA) networks.

With a reputation as a leading financial institution, especially in the realm of alternative investments and private markets, Morgan Stanley has assets under management exceeding $150 billion. The bank took a pioneering step in 2021 by becoming the first major U.S. bank to provide its affluent clients access to bitcoin through two external crypto funds, as confirmed in its April 2021 earnings call.

The evaluation of spot bitcoin ETFs by Morgan Stanley follows the trend of increasing investment in these products, which has seen billions of dollars in inflows. However, the expectation is that a significant influx of investment will occur once these ETFs are made available through large RIA networks and broker-dealer platforms associated with notable firms like Merrill Lynch, Wells Fargo, and Morgan Stanley itself.

Currently, the U.S. market has ten spot bitcoin ETFs trading, with the most assets under management found in products like Grayscale’s GBTC, BlackRock’s IBIT, and Fidelity’s FBTC. While it remains undisclosed which ETFs Morgan Stanley might offer, the firm’s consideration signals a potentially substantial shift in how digital assets are accessed by investors through mainstream financial platforms.