The Bitcoin investment landscape is about to undergo a major shift as leading global financial services firm Morgan Stanley prepares to launch a spot BTC exchange-traded fund (ETF) through its network of 15,000 financial advisors starting August 7. The move, initially reported by CNBC on August 2, marks the first time a major Wall Street bank has achieved direct access to such a broad Bitcoin investment product.

Why This Is a Big Deal for Bitcoin

Morgan Stanley’s announcement highlights the gradual acceptance of Bitcoin by mainstream financial services, following the SEC’s approval of 11 spot BTC ETFs earlier this year. Starting Wednesday, Morgan Stanley advisors will be allowed to offer shares of BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) and Fidelity’s Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC) to their clients.

Mike Alfred, CEO of Digital Assets Data and managing partner of Alpine Fox LP, said: "Once Morgan Stanley's 15,000 financial advisors start putting BTC ETFs into client portfolios, the unwinding of Japanese carry trades will gradually disappear. I can tell that most people don't really understand what this means yet. The U.S. wealth management business is a behemoth."

The ETFs are available only to clients who meet certain criteria, including a net worth of at least $1.5 million, a high risk tolerance and a demonstrated interest in speculative investing.“This targeted approach ensures that the product matches the risk profile and investment objectives of the right client,” said a source familiar with the policy.

Haseeb Qureshi, managing partner at Dragonfly, highlighted the change in private wealth advisory protocols, “This is a huge change. Currently, all private wealth advisors are ‘reverse enquiry only’, which means they are not allowed to promote BTC ETFs to their clients. This is changing now.”

Scott Melker, known online as “The Wolf of the Streets,” commented on the implications of the move: “This move reflects growing customer demand and marks a step toward mainstream adoption for Bitcoin. An important step. Only clients with a net worth of at least $1.5 million, a strong risk tolerance, and an interest in speculative investments are eligible, and these investments are limited to taxable brokerage accounts.”

Quinten Francois, a well-known cryptocurrency analyst, stressed the significance of this development: “Morgan Stanley will soon allow financial advisors to offer Bitcoin ETFs. Morgan Stanley advisors manage $5.7 trillion in client assets, making it the largest of the large securities firms.”

Popular Bitcoin analyst British HODL (@BritishHodl) added via X: “Morgan Stanley just changed the advisory game and started the Hunger Games on advisors by bringing 15,000 hungry, commission-driven salespeople into the Bitcoin fold to attack their $1.46 trillion in assets under management.