Morgan Stanley to offer wealth management clients bitcoin funds access - CNBC

Morgan Stanley has reportedly become the first big US bank to offer its wealth management clients access to bitcoin funds.

CNBC cited people with direct knowledge of the matter as saying that the investment bank told its financial advisors in an internal memo on Wednesday that it is launching access to three funds that enable ownership of bitcoin.

It was understood that clients demanded exposure to the cryptocurrency.

According to CNBC, the bank is currently allowing access only to its wealthier clients. The bank considers it suitable for people with "an aggressive risk tolerance" who have at least $2m in assets held by the firm, it said.

Investment firms need at least $5m at the bank to qualify for the new stakes and in both cases the accounts need to be at least six months old. Even for those accredited US investors with brokerage accounts and enough assets to qualify, the bank is limiting bitcoin investments to as much as 2.5% of their total net worth.