In yet another sign that Bitcoin is gaining wider acceptance, Morgan Stanley became the latest major player to make a serious move into crypto, with CNBC reporting on Wednesday that it is set to offer its wealth management clients access to Bitcoin funds. This was followed by reports that the investment bank is also making a play for a stake in Bithumb, Korea’s largest digital assets exchange.

At the SEC, Bitcoin exchange-traded fund applications continued to pile up, with Scaramucci's SkyBridge Capital and First Advisors teaming up to join the growing chorus of companies trying to win approval for a Bitcoin ETF.

And finally, lots happened in mining. Kentucky’s state legislature approved two proposed bills that would would attract crypto miners to the state. SBI Holdings, the mining subsidiary of Japanese financial conglomerate, opened its Bitcoin mining pool services to institutional and retail customers. And in Pakistan, the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa announced it is building two crypto mining farms as part of a pilot program.

Below is our weekly roundup of industry news. If you’d like to get in touch with us about any of our products or services, we look forward to hearing from you. Just send us a note.

This week's top stories

Morgan Stanley becomes the first big US bank to offer its wealthy clients access to Bitcoin funds

Morgan Stanley is on track to become the first big US bank to offer its wealth management clients access to Bitcoin funds. The investment bank, with $4 trillion in client assets, told its financial advisors Wednesday in an internal memo that it is launching access to three funds that enable ownership Bitcoin: FS NYDIG Select Bitcoin Fund, Galaxy Bitcoin Fund, and Galaxy Institutional Bitcoin Fund. Read more

Bitcoin is ‘too important to ignore’: Deutsche Bank report

Bitcoin is now 'too important to ignore' given its $1 trillion market capitalisation, according to a new report by Deutsche Bank. The report, published Wednesday, states that the price of Bitcoin could continue to rise as long as it continues to attract entry from asset managers and companies. However, the bank expects the crypto to remain volatile due to limited tradability. Read more

Following $6.5m CFTC fine, Coinbase delays direct stock listing

Coinbase, the biggest US cryptocurrency exchange, is now aiming to go public in April after its plans for a direct listing this month have 'slipped', according to unnamed sources with knowledge of the matter who spoke to Bloomberg. No reason was given for the delay, but on Friday the CFTC confirmed that the exchange had paid $6.5m to settle the regulators’ claims that it reported misleading transaction data. Read more

In case you missed it..

⚡️Grayscale adds five new crypto investment trusts including Chainlink and Filecoin.

⚡️Kraken could go public next year via a direct listing.

⚡️Sotheby’s auction house is getting into the NFT game.

⚡️Arthur Hayes seeks voluntary surrender in Hawaii court with $10m bail.

⚡️NEM launches Symbol – a proof-of-Stake, enterprise-facing blockchain platform.

⚡️Brazilian Stock Exchange approves two new crypto ETFs in Latin America.

⚡️OSL, Hong Kong’s first regulated crypto exchange, commences live trading.

⚡️Publicly-listed app maker Meitu buys another $49m in ETH and BTC via subsidiary.

⚡️BTC was best-performing asset of past decade by 1,000%.

⚡️USDC's total stablecoin supply has surpassed $10bn.

⚡️Bank of America sees DeFi ‘potentially more disruptive than Bitcoin.’

⚡️Robinhood targets expanded cryptocurrency trading business.

⚡️Visa CEO reveals Bitcoin and crypto plans.

⚡️Andreessen Horowitz leads $23m round for NFT marketplace OpenSea.

⚡️Bitpanda rides the Bitcoin wave to unicorn status.

⚡️eToro to go public via merger with blank check company at $10.4bn valuation.

⚡️Why MicroStrategy CEO Michael Saylor bet company cash on Bitcoin, and wants other corporations to join in: interview.

From Copper

New report: Cointango – are institutional investors missing risk-free opportunities? 

In the Bitcoin market, futures are currently trading above spot. Conventionally, contangos are excellent for putting on arbitrage trades, such as the ‘Cash-and-Carry’. Our latest in-depth report asks: Are institutional investors missing risk-free opportunities? Read More

Tyr Capital doubles down on security with latest Copper integration

We were thrilled to announce that Tyr Capital, the leading London-based cryptocurrency hedge fund, integrated with Copper in order to elevate its security and unlock seamless institutional access to digital assets. In leveraging our MPC tech, Tyr is eliminating historic security issues typically associated with owning digital assets and offering utmost peace of mind to its investors. Read More