Skip to main content

MLB Team Washington Nationals Partners With Terra Blockchain Community, Ballpark Plans to Accept UST

On February 9, the American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C., the Washington Nationals, announced the team has partnered with Terra, the open-source blockchain platform and decentralized autonomous organization (DAO). The Washington Nationals detail that the team is a “leading innovator” and is “consistently introducing new technologies to enhance the fan experience.” Washington Nationals Ink Long-Term Deal With Terra Major League Baseball (MLB) team the Washington Nationals has partnered with the blockchain platform and DAO Terra, according to an announcement published by the team on Wednesday. The deal with Terra follows a slew of sports-related deals with crypto firms, but the MLB team will be the first to partner with an open-source blockchain project. In addition to the partnership, the algorithmic stablecoin UST that’s issued on the Terra blockchain will be “accepted as a payment method at Nationals Park as early as next season.” “The Nationals continue t...

Morgan Stanley Making 3 Bitcoin Funds Available to Clients

Morgan Stanley to Make Bitcoin Funds Available to Clients

One of the largest U.S. investment banks, Morgan Stanley, will be offering its wealth management clients access to bitcoin funds. Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, and Bank of America’s wealth management divisions do not currently allow their advisors to offer direct investment in bitcoin funds.

Morgan Stanley to Offer Wealth Clients Access to Bitcoin Funds

Investment bank Morgan Stanley, with $4 trillion in client assets, has become the “first big U.S. bank to offer its wealth management clients access to bitcoin funds,” CNBC reported Wednesday.

The firm reportedly told its financial advisors in an internal memo that it is launching access to three funds that allow exposure to bitcoin, the publication conveyed, citing people with direct knowledge of the matter. According to the people, clients have been demanding exposure to the cryptocurrency, adding:

Clients can likely make investments as early as next month, after the bank’s financial advisors complete training courses tied to the new offerings.

Two of the bitcoin funds on offer are from Galaxy Digital: the Galaxy Bitcoin Fund LP and the Galaxy Institutional Bitcoin Fund LP. The third is FS NYDIG Select Fund, a joint effort from asset manager FS Investments and New York Digital Investments Group (NYDIG). The latter is the bitcoin investment arm of Stone Ridge Asset Management. Two of the funds have minimum investments of $25,000, but Galaxy Institutional Bitcoin Fund has a $5 million minimum.

The funds are only available to clients of Morgan Stanley’s wealth management division and investments are restricted to 2.5% of the client’s total net worth, the sources revealed. Clients must have at least $2 million in assets held by the firm with “an aggressive risk tolerance” to qualify, whereas investment firms need at least $5 million at the bank.

The wealth management divisions of other major U.S. investment banks — Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, and Bank of America — do not currently allow their advisors to offer direct investment in bitcoin funds, the news outlet noted.

Galaxy Digital CEO Mike Novogratz and NYDIG both tweeted that they are thrilled “to partner with Morgan Stanley, the first US bank to offer access to bitcoin for their wealth management clients.”

Bitcoiners welcome this move by Morgan Stanley, praising the investment bank for its contribution in making bitcoin more mainstream. Microstrategy CEO Michael Saylor wrote, “Morgan Stanley is the first bank to offer bitcoin, they won’t be the last.” Economist Saifedean Ammous, the author of The Bitcoin Standard, commented: “Today is the day the big banks entered bitcoin.” Morgan Creek Digital partner Anthony Pompliano opined:

Galaxy Digital and NYDIG will both be onboarding millions of people to bitcoin via the largest US brokerage. Morgan Stanley is in the game. Bitcoin is inevitable.

What do you think about Morgan Stanley offering bitcoin funds to clients? Let us know in the comments section below.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Blockchain Software Firm Consensys Acquires Mycrypto Ethereum Wallet

On February 1, the blockchain infrastructure firm Consensys has revealed it has acquired the Ethereum-based wallet Mycrypto and plans to merge the wallet into Metamask. The price Consensys paid for Mycrypto was not disclosed but the announcement notes that the acquisition will “further improve the security of all the products.” Consensys Obtains Mycrypto Ethereum Wallet, Plans to Merge With Metamask in the Future Consensys has acquired the Ethereum-based wallet Mycrypto for an undisclosed sum according to an announcement released on Tuesday. The deal aims to strengthen the company’s Ethereum wallet Metamask and “enhance Web3 experiences.” The eventual merger between the two Ethereum interfaces will “provide users with a heightened experience that is even more extensive and secure,” according to Consensys. Consensys is an Ethereum software company led by one of the Ethereum co-founders Joseph Lubin. The Web3 wallet Metamask, with 21 million monthly active users (MAUs) is owned by C...

Bitcoin Legal Tender in 3 Days but Survey Shows 7 Out of 10 Salvadorans Want Bitcoin Law Repealed

Bitcoin is becoming legal tender in El Salvador in three days. However, a nationwide survey conducted by the University Institute of Public Opinion (Iudop) shows that seven out of 10 Salvadorans want the government to repeal the Bitcoin Law. El Salvador’s Bitcoin Law Goes Into Effect in 3 Days The University Institute of Public Opinion (Iudop) in El Salvador conducted a study between Aug. 13 and Aug. 20 of how the public views the country’s upcoming Bitcoin Law. The institute is a research center of the José Simeón Cañas Central American University (UCA). El Salvador’s Bitcoin Law is set to go into effect on Sept. 7 , when BTC will be legal tender in the country alongside the U.S. dollar. A total of 1,281 respondents ages 18 and over participated in this national survey that “represents the entire adult population residing in the country,” according to the institute. Out of all the respondents, 62.4% said they were aware of the approval of the Bitcoin Law by the deputies of the ...

The Congolese Mountain of Gold: Surprise Discovery in Africa Shows Metal’s Scarcity Is Hard to Prove

A myriad of gold bugs like to compliment the yellow precious metal for its ostensible scarcity, as estimates say only 2,500 to 3,000 tons of new gold is produced annually. While new gold discoveries have seemingly slowed, investigative studies also show that in some areas, gold is being smuggled into the economy by the ton, and often never accounted for as far as per annum issuance estimates. Recently, reports show a whole mountain of gold was discovered in the Congo, as the Democratic Republic of the Congo is well known for being a region that sees tons of smuggled gold filtered into the global financial system unreported. Surprise Gold Deposits Continue to Crack the Precious Metal’s Scarcity Proposition It has always been said that the precious metal gold (Au) is scarce, and some reports even say that gold mining on earth will end by the year 2050 . Additionally, estimates also show that there’s roughly 2,500 to 3,000 tons of new gold that is accounted for and enters into the fin...