Morgan Stanley to provide its wealth management clients with access to bitcoin funds

Morgan Stanley has become the first U.S. bank to provide wealthy clients with access to funds that will enable them to own Bitcoin, CNBC first reported.

According to people with direct knowledge of the matter, the investment firm, a behemoth in wealth management with $4 trillion in client assets, informed its financial advisors Wednesday in an internal memo that it is launching access to three funds that allow bitcoin ownership.

Bitcoin hit an all-time high of $61,781.83 on Saturday but has since declined as investors consolidated losses and amid India’s plan to ban the cryptocurrency.

Morgan Stanley took an important step toward the recognition of bitcoin as an asset class after clients sought exposure to the blockchain.

Morgan Stanley has set a cap of up to 2.5 percent of their entire net worth for bitcoin investments.

Only those with at least $2 million in assets owned by the bank will be able to use the funds. Investment companies with at least $5 million in their bank accounts would also be included. According to the report, the accounts must be at least six months old in both cases.

The company can provide clients with access to funds managed by NYDIG or Galaxy Digital.

According to the report, clients could begin investing in these funds as early as next month.