Morgan Stanley Allows Financial Advisors to Offer Bitcoin ETFs

Morgan Stanley on Friday told its roughly 15,000 financial advisers that they are allowed to pitch wealthy clients on investing in two bitcoin exchange-traded funds starting next Wednesday, according to a person familiar with the policy.

The two funds are BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust and Fidelity’s Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund. Clients will need to have a net worth of at least $1.5 million to be eligible, and must also have a high risk tolerance and want to make speculative investments, the person said. Previously, clients could only invest in the funds if they asked for them unprompted.

Wealth management businesses at big banks have been cautious about embracing bitcoin exchange-traded funds, which securities regulators approved for the first time in the U.S. in January, given their price volatility.

CNBC first reported the news, citing people with knowledge of the policy.