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- Morgan Stanley has announced plans to back its network of financial advisors in allocating client portfolios to Bitcoin and other digital assets.
- The analysts note that cryptocurrencies are double-edged, delivering high returns in good markets but dropping sharply when the economy falters.
Global financial powerhouse Morgan Stanley has advised investors to adopt a measured and cautious stance toward cryptocurrency exposure in its October Global Investment Committee (GIC) report.
Hunter Horsely, the CEO of Bitwise, brought this information to light with an X post, “New Special Report from Morgan Stanley GIC: ‘We aim to support our Financial Advisors and clients, who may flexibly allocate to cryptocurrency as part of their multiasset portfolios.”
In its Global Investment Committee report, which guides more than 16,000 financial advisors managing roughly $2 trillion in client wealth, the bank’s investment division advised maintaining only a small portion of crypto within diversified portfolios.
The guidance marks one of Morgan Stanley’s clearest positions yet on how digital assets fit into institutional and retail wealth strategies.
Guidance for Different Risk Profiles
Hunter added, “We’re entering the mainstream era.” The report explains that for those with the most conservative strategies, such as Wealth Conservation and Income portfolios, the recommended initial allocation to cryptocurrency is 0%, reflecting a cautious stance toward volatility.
Investors with moderate risk tolerance, categorized under Balanced Growth, are advised to allocate up to 2% to crypto assets, while those with higher risk appetites under Market Growth and Opportunistic Growth profiles can consider allocations of 3% and 4%, respectively.
This is a sign of Morgan Stanley’s belief that crypto can play a role in diversified portfolios, though only in proportion to an investor’s capacity for risk.
The report elaborates by stating, “We place the emerging asset class within real assets and focus our commentary here primarily on Bitcoin, which we consider a scarce asset, akin to digital gold.”
In other words, by calling Bitcoin “digital gold,” the firm acknowledges its growing reputation as a hedge against inflation and economic uncertainty, a decentralized asset with a 21million fixed supply that cannot be manipulated by central banks or governments.
When a financial powerhouse like Morgan Stanley issues official guidance on digital asset allocation or prepares to offer trading access, it’s a sign that crypto is no longer on the fringes of finance. Also, a modest allocation can translate into significant inflows, giving digital assets new momentum under Donald Trump’s administration. However, volatility also poses risks; digital assets can swing sharply in value and test investor tolerance.
Crypto Trading Coming to E-Trade
As detailed in our previous news coverage, Morgan Stanley is gearing up to bring crypto trading directly to its ETrade platform in early 2026. This is going to be achieved through its partnership with Zerohash, a business-to-business (B2B) financial technology company.
The bank plans to let retail investors buy and sell Bitcoin, Ethereum (ETH), and Solana (SOL) alongside their traditional investments.
ETrade, which Morgan Stanley acquired in 2020, already gives clients access to stocks, ETFs, bonds, and options, and this new feature will seamlessly add cryptocurrencies to that lineup. It also comes at a time when the global crypto market is booming, currently valued at around $4.24 trillion.
Bitcoin, for instance, has surged 10% in the past week, hitting a new all-time high of $125,559 over the weekend before settling near $124,078.
