Institutional interest and adoption significantly increased after Spot Bitcoin ETFs (exchange-traded funds) were approved in the US. As a result, Morgan Stanley and UBS have entered a race to add crypto products to their platforms.
Morgan Stanley Meets Competition
As reported by Bitcoinist, the news was broken by crypto commentator Andrew from Arch Public on March 26. The information revealed that the financial giant Morgan Stanley approved Bitcoin ETFs on its platforms.
Several sources inside the banking titan confirmed that the approval would come in two weeks. Moreover, the crypto commentator affirmed that his sources included insiders from Bitcoin ETF firms and legal individuals adjacent to both.
A Tuesday update on the situation revealed that another financial titan, the multinational investment bank UBS, joined the race to offer spot Bitcoin ETFs. The news was first shared on Scott Melker’s show.
According to the X post, UBS was set to include BTC ETFs on its platform next week, when the US bank will supposedly add them, to be “widely available.”
UPDATE: several notes from @MorganStanley execs this AM; salty about @UBS post yesterday. They want to be the first wirehouse to fully approve the #Bitcoin ETF's.
– @MorganStanley may announce a few days before @UBS.– interesting that global banks are talking about $BTC ETF's…
— Andrew (@AP_Abacus) April 3, 2024
Sources told the crypto commentator that Morgan Staley executives are not pleased with UBS’s move. The executives are allegedly “salty” about the news as they want to be “the first wirehouse to approve the Bitcoin ETFs fully.”
Morgan Stanley’s hopes to become the first brokerage house to offer BTC ETFs are not surprising. The US financial institution holds over $1.5 trillion in clients’ assets and has embraced the flagship cryptocurrency for years.
In 2021, Morgan Stanley became the first major US bank to offer BTC exposure to its clients. The success of the Bitcoin ETFs has attracted different traditional financial institutions to these products, including big players like banks and digital asset firms worldwide.
Spot Bitcoin ETF’s New Race
UBS’s move has seemingly turned the global banking industry’s view of approval into a race. As Andrew commented on Wednesday on X, “interesting that global banks are talking about $BTC ETFs as a race.”
According to the post, Morgan Stanley could make another effort to end on top of its competition. Sources told Andrew that the US bank could announce Bitcoin ETFs on its platform before UBS.
Bloomberg ETF expert Eric Balchunas weighed in. “Solid sources” informed Balchunas that neither bank has added the BTC ETFs to their platforms. Seemingly, the products are “still in holding pattern.”
Correct. Unsolicited is already in effect
— Eric Balchunas (@EricBalchunas) April 3, 2024
Andrew added that UBS’s BTC ETFs are technically already on the platform. According to the commentator, they “already approved in PWM (>$10MM)” but must be marked as “unsolicited.”
Moreover, the ETF expert commented on the race approach of the financial institutions. He suggested that “in a compliance game of chicken,” baking platforms are waiting for one of them to go first as it would give the others “cover.”
Balchunas considers it will probably be an all-at-once type of movement, although “when” remains uncertain.
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