IVZ - Morgan Stanley To Allow Brokers To Pitch Crypto ETFs

2024-04-25 09:58:36 ET

U.S. investment bank %MorganStanley (NYSE: ) is planning to allow its 15,000 brokers to start pitching %Bitcoin (CRYPTO: ) exchange-traded funds (ETF) to customers.

Analysts and crypto bulls say the decision could lead to a fresh influx of capital into the %CryptoETFs at a time when inflows have begun to slow.

While Morgan Stanley currently facilitates Bitcoin ETF purchases, they are done on an unsolicited basis.

The investment bank now says it is planning to let its army of brokers actively pitch Bitcoin ETFs to customers around the world.

The ETFs allow the people to track the price movements of Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, without having to physically own the asset in a digital wallet.

The move by Morgan Stanley comes after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved in January of this year 11 spot Bitcoin ETFs.

Firms that have launched crypto ETFs include %BlackRock (NYSE: ), Fidelity, and %Invesco (NYSE: ), among others.

After quickly attracting more than $10 billion U.S. of capital, inflows into the Bitcoin ETFs have dwindled. BlackRock registered no daily inflows to its ETF for the first time on April 24.

Morgan Stanley giving its brokers permission to pitch the Bitcoin ETFs could inject some momentum back into the funds, say analysts.

The SEC is expected to approve spot %Ethereum (CRYPTO: ) ETFs later this year.

Bitcoin is currently trading near $64,000 U.S., having risen 45% so far in 2024.