Wall Street Giant Morgan Stanley to Enable Institutional Clients Access to Bitcoin

Just a few months after America’s oldest bank announced bitcoin custody services, the Wall Street giant Morgan Stanley will start offering its clients access to BTC funds. Nevertheless, the bank has outlined bitcoin’s risky nature and said that only people with “an aggressive risk tolerance” should take advantage of the service. 

• By citing an internal memo sent by Morgan Stanley to its financial advisors, CNBC reported the significant milestone in BTC’s adoption cycle earlier today. The institution outlined a substantial increase in demand from clients towards the primary cryptocurrency. 
• The coverage reads that the banking entity will enable access to three funds that have ownership of bitcoin starting from April 2020.  
• The bank has reportedly advised that only those with “an aggressive risk tolerance” who have at least $2 million in assets should consider allocating funds in the more volatile BTC investment option. 
• The bank has also instituted a few requirements, the coverage explained. Investment firms need to have at least $5 million at the bank in accounts at least six months old to qualify for the new initiative.  
• Even those who qualify, though, would be able to allocate 2.5% of their total net worth in the BTC products. 
• According to the report, two of the funds are offered by Mike Novogratz’ Galaxy Digital. The third is a combined endeavor from the New York Digital Investment Group (NYDIG) and the asset manager FS Investments. 
• The latter has a minimum investment requirement of $25,000, while the Galaxy Institutional Bitcoin Fund has a $5 million minimum. 
• Morgan Stanley has been among the few Wall Street institutions that have displayed a somewhat open-minded approach towards BTC for a while. In late 2020, a bank executive said that the cryptocurrency could become a global reserve currency, while other reports suggested that the organization could buy bitcoin through its investment arm. 
• Previously, America’s oldest bank, BNY Mellon, also showed a pro-BTC approach by launching cryptocurrency custody services.