BofA's Merrill, Wells Fargo offering spot bitcoin ETFs to clients
Reuters
Published Feb 29, 2024 15:10
Updated Mar 01, 2024 14:30
By Niket Nishant, Pritam Biswas and Jaiveer Shekhawat
(Reuters) -Bank of America's Merrill Lynch and Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC) have been offering spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds to eligible wealth management clients, highlighting the growing popularity of the asset class.
The ETFs have been available to clients for weeks, a source familiar with Bank of America (NYSE:BAC)'s plans told Reuters on Thursday.
This comes on the heels of the Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) landmark approval of such investment vehicles in January.
"Spot bitcoin ETFs are available for unsolicited purchases through an advisor with Wells Fargo Advisors or through our online WellsTrade platform." Wells Fargo said in an emailed statement on Thursday.
Spot bitcoin ETFs offer investors exposure to the world's largest cryptocurrency without directly holding it. After a decade-long tussle with the SEC, 11 such ETFs started trading in the United States last month.
The ETFs have opened up the asset class to new investors and reignited the excitement that had evaporated when prices collapsed in the "crypto winter" of 2022.
The growing popularity of such investments has even prompted some investors to swap out holdings in gold-backed ETFs. Bitcoin is often touted as the "digital gold".
"We remain convinced that bitcoin is on an 18-month path to $150,000 led by unprecedented institutional adoption," Bernstein analyst Gautam Chhugani said earlier this week. Bitcoin on Wednesday hit $60,000 for the first time in more than two years.
Bloomberg Law first reported BofA and Wells Fargo's moves earlier in the day.
In contrast, Vanguard — the largest provider of mutual funds — said it has no plans to make spot bitcoin ETFs available on its platform to its brokerage clients.
Get The App
Written By: Reuters
Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.