Morgan Stanley first US bank to offer Bitcoin funds

By Ovunc Kutlu

ANKARA (AA) - Morgan Stanley has become the first major American bank to offer clients access to Bitcoin funds, according to a report on Wednesday.

The American multinational investment bank and financial services company said in an internal memo that it has begun providing access to three funds that enable ownership of the popular cryptocurrency, according to the CNBC network.

Access, however, will only be available for the wealthy clients who have at least $2 million in assets held by the company, while investment firms need at least $5 million for qualification.

Bitcoin with more than $1 trillion market capitalization saw its price touch an all-time high of $60,000 in recent days -- a dramatic jump from $5,000 the same period last year.

Although central banks have been critical of the decentralized and unregulated crypto assets, institutional investors have started to buy into the crypto market in recent months.