Merrill, Wells Fargo Offer Bitcoin ETF Products for Clients

Bank of America Corp.’s Merrill arm and Wells Fargo & Co.’s brokerage unit are offering access to ETFs that invest directly in bitcoin, underscoring the increasing acceptance of the products by mainstream firms.

The banks are offering the approved ETFs to some wealth management clients with brokerage accounts who request the products, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified discussing private information.

After years of industry speculation, nearly a dozen bitcoin ETFs won approval from U.S. regulators in January — with the landmark decision sparking a surge in demand for the vehicles.

But even with regulators’ blessing, it’s up to firms whether to offer trading in the bitcoin-linked products and some may be reluctant to jump into a volatile asset class.

Many are diving in.

Bank of America’s Merrill and Wells Fargo join Charles Schwab Corp. and Robinhood Markets Inc., which started offering the spot Bitcoin ETFs shortly after their approval.

UBS Group AG is also offering a number of the bitcoin ETFs to some of its wealth management clients with brokerage accounts on an unsolicited basis, Bloomberg reported in January.

Morgan Stanley is evaluating adding spot bitcoin ETFs to its platform, according to CoinDesk. A representative for Morgan Stanley declined to comment to Bloomberg