(Kitco News) – The recent pullback for Bitcoin (BTC) coincided with a decline in inflows into the spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), suggesting that demand from the ETFs played an instrumental role in its rise to a new all-time high on March 14.
Collectively, the ETFs have been the most successful launch on the U.S. market as they recorded more than $12 billion worth of inflows in record time and surpassed $150 billion in trading volume by April 1.
While the past two weeks have seen a moderation in ETF activity, with “The Nine” seeing outflows for five straight days from March 18 to 22 and lower overall flows, on average, since then, that could soon change as reports suggest that Morgan Stanley and UBS are preparing to start offering clients exposure to the ETFs next week.
According to crypto enthusiast Andrew, whose X username is AP_Abacus, executives at Morgan Stanley want to be the first wirehouse to fully approve access to spot BTC ETFs for their clients and are now in a race to launch first after UBS announced their intentions to do so.
UPDATE: several notes from @MorganStanley execs this AM; salty about @UBS post yesterday. They want to be the first wirehouse to fully approve the #Bitcoin ETF's.
- @MorganStanley may announce a few days before @UBS.
- interesting that global banks are talking about $BTC ETF's…— Andrew (@AP_Abacus) April 3, 2024
He said his sources indicate that Morgan Stanley is looking to announce access “a few days before UBS” amid a rise in interest from global banks regarding Bitcoin ETFs.
In response to Andrew’s post, Bloomberg Intelligence senior ETF analyst Eric Balchunas said that one of his sources told him that none of the banks have added Bitcoin ETFs yet and remain in a “holding pattern.”
He added that they are “in a compliance game of chicken,” with all parties “waiting for one of them to go first,” which “then gives the rest cover.”
“So [it] will probably be an all-at-once type moment,” Balchunas said. “When it happens is the ultimate question.”
Andrew responded by noting that “UBS already approved for [Private Wealth Management] (>$10MM) but must be marked ‘unsolicited,’” which means they are “Technically on the platform already.”
“These posts are about full approval across the entire platform and advisors allowed to solicit inclusion in client portfolios,” Andrew said, to which Balchunas replied, “Correct. Unsolicited is already in effect.”
Today’s update follows an update posted by Andrew on Tuesday where he noted that sources told him that UBS was planning on adding access to spot Bitcoin ETFs across its platform next week.
UPDATE: sources saying that #Bitcoin ETF’s will be added to @UBS platform next week and widely available.
- removal from PWM silo.
- removal of ‘unsolicited’ order restriction.
- @UBS manages $3.5T in global wealth.— Andrew (@AP_Abacus) April 2, 2024
He first announced that Morgan Stanley was exploring the possibility of listing spot BTC ETFs on March 26, tweeting, “Several sources confirm that Morgan Stanley is set to approve Bitcoin ETFs on its platform in the next two weeks.”
