Morgan Stanley: Bitcoin is expected to be included in U.S. bank balance sheets, but it will still take time

Odaily Planet Daily News: Amy Oldenburg, Head of Digital Asset Strategy at Morgan Stanley, said that in the future Bitcoin could enter U.S. banks’ balance sheets, but before it becomes a reality, it still faces multiple obstacles such as regulatory and capital rules, including Federal Reserve policies, Basel Accord requirements, and global regulatory coordination issues.

Oldenburg noted that as the regulatory environment gradually improves and customer demand rises, Morgan Stanley is continuing to build out its digital asset business. The firm recently launched its first Bitcoin exchange-traded product (ETP), MSBT, issued by a U.S.-licensed bank. It attracted more than $100 million in inflows in just 6 days, all of which came from the firm’s proprietary trading clients. The product has not yet been made available to wealth management channels, indicating strong market demand.

She also said that there is still a clear gap between current customer demand and how wealth managers allocate assets. Morgan Stanley recommends that clients allocate 2%-4% of their assets to Bitcoin, but adoption among wealth managers is slow, mainly due to insufficient awareness and education. Currently, about 80% of ETP investments on the platform are completed through proprietary trading.

At the industry level, BlackRock’s Bitcoin spot ETF, IBIT, has exceeded $61 billion in assets since its launch in January 2024, becoming one of the fastest-growing ETFs in history and further validating institutional demand.

In addition, Morgan Stanley is applying for a digital trust license from the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC). In the future, this could enable self-custody of crypto assets and spot trading services. Currently, the MSBT product is jointly custodied by Coinbase and BNY Mellon. (CoinDesk)