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Major U.S. financial institutions manage at least $27 trillion in assets, which are also “actively” seeking to provide customers with access to bitcoin (BTC) and cryptocurrencies.
On June 26, CoinShares Chief Strategy Officer Meltem Demirors highlighted at least eight major financial institutions that have reported movements in the digital asset space, including BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF spot orders and Fidelity’s cryptocurrency asset management solutions.
Others include JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, BNY Mellon, Invesco and Bank of America.
“Many of the largest financial institutions in the US are actively working to provide access to bitcoin and more,” she noted, adding that there are a whopping $27 trillion in assets in between.
1/ last week’s @blackrock spot Bitcoin ETF filing was big news!
but, it’s not the only story. many of the largest financial institutions in the US are actively working to provide access to Bitcoin and more.
a quick glance – $27 trillion of client assets here! pic.twitter.com/azmHZmUL2a
— Meltem Demirors (@Melt_Dem) June 26, 2023
Earlier this month, BlackRock’s June 16 application for a Bitcoin ETF led to a wave of applications for similar products, reinforcing the narrative that “institutions are coming” for Bitcoin.
According to CoinGecko, the price of BTC hit a 2023 high of $31,185 on June 24 amid growing confidence.
However, Demirors noted that while “institutions are emerging,” it is still more of a trickle than a wave. “We see bridges being built in real time,” she added.
It should be noted that the $27 trillion figure is an estimate of the total amount of assets managed by eight institutions, and only a small fraction of this amount is likely to be allocated to cryptocurrency investments.
However, Reflexivity Research co-founder Will Clemente still shares Demiror’s sentiment, pointing out that Bitcoin’s market cap is less than $600 billion.
“Between HSBC, Blackrock, Fidelity and Schwab, we are talking about $25 trillion worth of assets under management that could soon be bought for Bitcoin.”
Institutional investors are already showing more interest in Bitcoin-related funds. The ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BITO) posted its biggest weekly inflow in a year, raising AUM by more than $1 billion, Cointelegraph reports.
Related: BlackRock Bitcoin ETF ‘is the best thing that could happen’ to BTC, or not?
Earlier this week, Federal Reserve Board member Michelle Bowman criticized the lack of a regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies, saying asset class uncertainty traps institutions in a “supervisory void.”