Wells Fargo, Morgan Stanley, Merrill Lynch and UBS Will Open Bitcoin ETF Services by End of Year: Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan

The chief investment officer of the crypto asset management firm Bitwise says that mainstream banking institutions will launch Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded fund (ETF) services by the end of 2025.

In a new note to investors, Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan says the four largest wirehouses in the world – Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, Wells Fargo and UBS – who together hold over $10 trillion in assets, will soon strive to give their clients access to the crypto king via ETFs.

“I suspect all four wirehouses will be open for business on Bitcoin ETFs by the end of the year. It’s one of the reasons I still expect Bitcoin ETFs to set a new record for net inflows this year, despite pulling in ‘just’ $3.7 billion so far in 2025, compared to $35 billion in 2024.”

Hougan also predicts that more institutionally oriented investors will open up to Bitcoin as more and more milestones get hit. The investor notes that previously unimaginable developments keep happening for the flagship crypto asset, like institutional custody, government adoption, and easy access through ETFs.

“If you go back even a few years, what we thought it would take – like the U.S. government owning bitcoin or the largest asset manager in the world embracing the asset – seemed far-fetched. But here we are…

I think a lot of people are going to come to the same conclusion this year.”

Bitcoin is trading for $93,869 at time of writing, a 1.1% decrease during the last 24 hours.

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Featured Image: Shutterstock/Jorm S