Crypto insider Andrew AP Abacus reports that UBS and Morgan Stanley would both be launching Bitcoin ETFs on their platforms the following week.
The competition between investment banks has intensified with the introduction of spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the US, with each hoping to be the first wirehouse to provide the products.
The goal of Morgan Stanley is to surpass UBS in order to be the first wirehouse to fully approve the Bitcoin ETF, according to X report on April 3 from cryptocurrency enthusiast Andrew (AP_Abacus).
Andrew said that the bank “may announce a few days before” entering the Bitcoin ETF market, citing inside Morgan Stanley papers.
Additionally, he stated that international banks have been actively discussing the inclusion of a Bitcoin ETF as a race.
In response to Andrew’s X post, Eric Balchunas, a Bloomberg ETF expert, noted that UBS and Morgan Stanley have not introduced Bitcoin ETFs, citing a “solid source.”
“They’re still in a holding pattern, playing a game of compliance chicken where they wait for one of them to depart before giving the others cover. Thus, when that is the question, there most likely will be an all-at-once kind of moment, Balchunas said.
Andrew stated that UBS intends to integrate Bitcoin ETFs on its platform between April 8 and April 12 of next week, prior to publishing the most recent update.
A few weeks after Andrew revealed that the bank is preparing to accept Bitcoin ETFs, there has been more conjecture on Morgan Stanley’s possible competitive move against UBS.
On March 26, the ad stated, “Several sources confirm that Morgan Stanley is set to approve Bitcoin ETFs on its platform in the next two weeks.”
At the time of publication, Cointelegraph had not heard back from Morgan Stanley or UBS regarding the possible inclusion of spot Bitcoin ETFs on their platforms.
After years of attempts to introduce one in the nation, spot Bitcoin ETFs made their historic trading debut in the US on January 11. Following this, clients of big banks like UBS and Citi complained that they were unable to obtain spot Bitcoin ETFs; the banks provided various justifications for not listing those investment products.
Spot Bitcoin ETFs can only be sold in a brokerage account and are only appropriate for “aggressive investors,” a UBS representative told Cointelegraph in January.
In an official statement regarding spot Bitcoin ETFs on January 29, UBS stated, “It remains to be seen if the issuers will be able to distinguish themselves in terms of ability to manage the product during turbulent markets.”
Even after the ETF was approved, some other significant American banks remained skeptical of Bitcoin.
In an interview with the Wall Street Journal on April 2, Goldman Sachs’ chief investment officer and acknowledged Bitcoin critic Sharmin Mossavar-Rahmani stated, “We do not think it is an investment asset class.” She said, “We don’t believe in cryptocurrency.”
