Bank of America, Wells Fargo to Offer Spot Bitcoin ETFs to Clients: Bloomberg

CoinDesk reported on Wednesday that another Wall Street giant, Morgan Stanley, might soon offer its clients exposure to the new products as well.

AccessTimeIconFeb 29, 2024 at 7:19 p.m. UTC
Updated Mar 8, 2024 at 10:26 p.m. UTC
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  • Bank of America's Merrill Lynch and Wells Fargo are offering spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) to their clients.
  • People familiar with the matter told Bloomberg that the two firms had been allowing clients who specifically asked for exposure to the funds.
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  • Two Wall Street wealth management giants, Bank of America’s Merrill Lynch and Wells Fargo, are adding spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds to their brokerage platforms, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

    Ever since the launch of the 10 ETFs in January, industry participants have been wondering when major U.S. brokerages would start offering the funds to their clients, which could potentially bring much more buying power to the market for bitcoin ETFs.

    The Bloomberg story follows a CoinDesk scoop Wednesday that Morgan Stanley, another titan in the space, is in the midst of deciding whether to give clients the option to invest in the funds. In January, CoinDesk reported first that UBS and Citigroup were letting some customers buy bitcoin ETFs.

    Merrill Lynch and Wells Fargo have been offering the bitcoin ETFs to clients who specifically asked to get exposure to it, Bloomberg reported.

    Even without the participation of players of this caliber, the ETFs have seen tremendous demand since they began trading on Jan. 11. On Wednesday alone, a record $7.7 billion worth of all the funds traded.

    Nevertheless, the entrance of Merrill Lynch, Wells Fargo and, perhaps, Morgan Stanley could bring a new wave of demand, Bitwise chief investment officer Matt Hougan said earlier on Thursday.

    Edited by Nick Baker.

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    CoinDesk is an award-winning media outlet that covers the cryptocurrency industry. Its journalists abide by a strict set of editorial policies. In November 2023, CoinDesk was acquired by the Bullish group, owner of Bullish, a regulated, digital assets exchange. The Bullish group is majority-owned by Block.one; both companies have interests in a variety of blockchain and digital asset businesses and significant holdings of digital assets, including bitcoin. CoinDesk operates as an independent subsidiary with an editorial committee to protect journalistic independence. CoinDesk employees, including journalists, may receive options in the Bullish group as part of their compensation.

    Helene Braun

    Helene is a New York-based reporter covering Wall Street, the rise of the spot bitcoin ETFs and crypto exchanges. She is also the co-host of CoinDesk's Markets Daily show. Helene is a graduate of New York University's business and economic reporting program and has appeared on CBS News, YahooFinance and Nasdaq TradeTalks. She holds BTC and ETH.


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