Wall Street leans into Bitcoin
Major financial firms have accelerated moves into Bitcoin ETFs, signalling deeper institutional interest in crypto; Goldman Sachs filed for a Bitcoin ETF while Morgan Stanley launched its own product last week. ETF flows continued to show inflows — Bitcoin ETFs recorded $26.05m on April 16 and Ethereum ETFs hit a six‑day positive streak — suggesting steady demand in conventional investment wrappers. (dlnews.com, themarketperiodical.com, benzinga.com)
Wall Street’s biggest banks are moving deeper into Bitcoin through exchange-traded funds, bringing crypto into the same wrappers many stock investors already use. (sec.gov) Morgan Stanley Investment Management said on April 8 that it launched the Morgan Stanley Bitcoin Trust, ticker MSBT, on NYSE Arca. The firm said the product is an exchange-traded product designed to track bitcoin and called it the first cryptocurrency ETP from a U.S. bank-affiliated asset manager. (morganstanley.com) Goldman Sachs filed a prospectus dated April 15 for the Goldman Sachs Bitcoin Premium Income ETF. The filing says the fund may hold shares of spot Bitcoin exchange-traded products and Bitcoin ETP options directly, or through a Cayman Islands subsidiary. (sec.gov) A Bitcoin exchange-traded fund lets investors buy a stock-like fund that tracks bitcoin instead of buying the token directly and arranging custody themselves. The Securities and Exchange Commission approved the listing and trading of spot bitcoin exchange-traded products on January 10, 2024, opening the door for firms such as BlackRock, Fidelity and now bank-owned asset managers. (sec.gov) The same template spread to Ethereum in 2024. The Securities and Exchange Commission cleared spot Ether funds to begin trading on July 23, 2024, creating a second regulated lane for crypto exposure in brokerage accounts. (troutman.com) The latest flow data show those wrappers are still attracting cash. On April 16, U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs took in $26.05 million, extending a three-day inflow streak, while spot Ethereum ETFs added $18.02 million for a sixth straight positive session, according to SoSoValue data cited by market publications. (themarketperiodical.com) Morgan Stanley is also competing on price. CoinDesk reported that MSBT launched with a 0.14% fee, below BlackRock’s 0.25% fee on IBIT, as the new entrant tries to win assets in a market where BlackRock still holds the liquidity advantage. (coindesk.com) Goldman’s proposed fund is not a plain spot tracker. Its filing describes an income strategy tied to Bitcoin ETPs and options, showing that banks are moving beyond simple access products and into packaged strategies built around crypto exposure. (sec.gov) The push does not settle the debate over crypto risk. Morgan Stanley’s product page says MSBT is not registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940 and warns that an investment in the fund carries “a high degree of risk and heightened volatility,” including the possibility of losing the entire investment. (morganstanley.com) For now, the shift is visible in the plumbing of mainstream finance: SEC filings, NYSE listings and daily fund flows. Bitcoin is increasingly being sold on Wall Street in the same account, and often by the same firms, that investors use for stocks and bonds. (sec.gov)
