Morgan Stanley: Crypto ETF adoption is still in the "very early stages," with 80% of demand coming from self-directed investors

ChainCatcher news, according to The Block, Amy Oldenburg, Head of Digital Asset Strategy at Morgan Stanley, stated at the Washington Blockchain Summit that the adoption of crypto ETFs is still at a very early stage. About 80% of crypto ETF demand on the platform comes from self-directed investors, rather than advisor-managed accounts.

Oldenburg described Morgan Stanley's advancement of crypto products as an "orderly step-by-step journey," emphasizing that the wealth management team still needs to do a lot of work in education and portfolio construction to help financial advisors incorporate digital assets into asset allocation models. Morgan Stanley opened brokerage account access for Bitcoin ETF purchases in 2024 and applied to list Bitcoin and Solana spot ETFs in January this year.

At the institutional allocation level, Morgan Stanley's Global Investment Committee recommends that the proportion of crypto assets in model portfolios should not exceed 4%. Bank of America also supports an allocation range of 1% to 4%, and BlackRock and Fidelity have provided similar guidance. Bitwise Chief Investment Officer Matt Hougan pointed out that some professional investors are now considering increasing their allocation ratio to about 5%.