Morgan Stanley: Bitcoin could be included in US bank balance sheets, but it will take time.

Amy Oldenburg, Head of Digital Asset Strategy at Morgan Stanley, stated that Bitcoin is expected to be included on the balance sheets of US banks in the future, but it still faces multiple obstacles before it can be truly realized, including Federal Reserve policies, Basel Accord requirements, and global regulatory coordination issues. Oldenburg pointed out that as the regulatory environment gradually improves and customer demand increases, Morgan Stanley is continuously expanding its digital asset business. The bank recently launched MSBT, the first Bitcoin exchange-traded product (ETP) issued by a licensed US bank. Within six days of its launch, it attracted over $100 million in inflows, all from independent trading clients, and has not yet been opened to investment advisors, demonstrating strong market demand. She also stated that there is still a significant gap between current customer demand and investment advisor allocation. Morgan Stanley recommends that clients allocate 2%-4% of their assets to Bitcoin, but investment advisor adoption is slow, mainly due to insufficient awareness and education. Currently, approximately 80% of ETP investments on the platform are completed through independent trading. At the industry level, BlackRock's Bitcoin spot ETF, IBIT, has surpassed $61 billion in assets under management since its launch in January 2024, becoming one of the fastest-growing ETFs in history, further validating institutional demand. Furthermore, Morgan Stanley is applying for a digital trust license from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), which may enable it to provide self-custody and spot trading services for crypto assets in the future. Currently, the MSBT product is dual-custodied by Coinbase and BNY Mellon. (CoinDesk)