Morgan Stanley Mulling Spot Bitcoin ETF Offering

Morgan Stanley is actively considering offering spot Bitcoin exchange traded funds to its clients. The firm is conducting due diligence on adding the ETFs to its brokerage platform, according to people familiar with the situation, reported crypto news publication Coindesk.

Morgan Stanley has considered issuing the ETFs since the Securities and Exchange Commission approved 11 such products last month, according to the website.

Ten ETFs are now trading in the U.S., with Grayscale’s GBTC, BlackRock’s IBIT, and Fidelity’s FBTC leading the way in terms of assets; however, it is unknown which funds Morgan Stanley is evaluating.

Morgan Stanley’s position on Bitcoin has been complex. In 2021, the company became the first major U.S. bank to offer access to Bitcoin to its wealth management clients, when it opened investing in Bitcoin funds to clients with at least $2 million in assets with the firm and “an aggressive risk tolerance” as well as investment firms with at least $5 million.

Then-CFO Jonathan Pruzan stated that qualifying investors may access two passive funds, which were believed to be offered by Galaxy Digital and NYDIG. At the time, Pruzan also said the firm would “work with regulators to provide services we think are appropriate.”

In 2022, however, CIO Lisa Shalett stated that cryptocurrency was “extraordinarily volatile” and that clients should see it as “speculative money.”