The competition among investment banks to be the first wirehouse to offer spot Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the United States has intensified. According to crypto enthusiast Andrew (AP_Abacus) on X, Morgan Stanley is aiming to beat UBS in becoming the first wirehouse to fully approve Bitcoin ETFs. Andrew cited internal notes from Morgan Stanley, stating that the bank may announce its move into Bitcoin ETFs a few days before. He also mentioned that global banks have been actively discussing the addition of Bitcoin ETFs as a race.
Bloomberg ETF expert Eric Balchunas, commenting on Andrew’s X thread, confirmed that neither Morgan Stanley nor UBS have added Bitcoin ETFs yet. Balchunas suggested that they are in a holding pattern, playing a compliance game of chicken and waiting for one of them to take the first step.
Andrew previously reported that UBS plans to add Bitcoin ETFs to its platform between April 8 and April 12. The latest speculation about Morgan Stanley’s potential rival move against UBS comes after Andrew’s report that Morgan Stanley is set to approve Bitcoin ETFs on its platform in the next two weeks.
Cointelegraph reached out to both Morgan Stanley and UBS for comment on the potential addition of spot Bitcoin ETFs to their platforms, but received no response.
Spot Bitcoin ETFs made their historic trading debut in the United States on January 11, after many years of efforts to launch one in the country. However, customers of major banks like UBS and Citi reported being unable to access spot Bitcoin ETFs, with banks providing various reasons for not listing these investment products.
UBS stated in an official statement on January 29 that spot Bitcoin ETFs can only be offered in a brokerage account and are suitable only for “aggressive investors.” The bank also highlighted the need for issuers to demonstrate their ability to manage the product during turbulent markets.
Despite the ETF approval, some major banks in the US remain skeptical about Bitcoin. Goldman Sachs’ chief investment officer, Sharmin Mossavar-Rahmani, stated in an interview with the Wall Street Journal on April 2 that they do not consider Bitcoin an investment asset class and are not believers in crypto.
In other news, the CEO of Trezor, a cryptocurrency hardware wallet, warned that Bitcoin ETFs make Coinbase a “honeypot” for hackers and governments.