Welcome to Blockchain Asia
en한국어
Bitcoin
$ 43,850
Ethereum
$ 2,038.4
Litecoin
$ 69.88

Morgan Stanley Set to Launch Bitcoin Swap Trading

This post is also available in: ko한국어 (Korean)

Morgan Stanley, the well-known New York-based global investment bank and financial services company, plans to launch a bitcoin swap trading for its clients.

According to the report by Bloomberg dated September 13th, an unnamed source who did not want to be identified for releasing the information, the bank will offer its investors a “synthetic exposure to the performance of Bitcoin” through contract deals. The source also added that “investors will be able to go long or short using the so-called price return swaps, [where] Morgan Stanley will charge a spread for each transaction”.

The source further stated that the bank already has the technical ability and is prepared to offer the Bitcoin swap trading. The launch will come once there is proven institutional client demand and after the completion of an internal approval process.

Morgan Stanley’s initiative on the bitcoin swap trading would mark a growing list of major US banks joining the world of cryptocurrency, which also include Goldman Sachs, Citigroup and JPMorgan.

Earlier this year, James Gorman, CEO of Morgan Stanley, had stated that “the bank wouldn’t let customers buy and sell cryptocurrencies directly through Morgan Stanley, but would instead build a trading desk to support various derivatives tied to digital assets.”

Back in July, Morgan Stanley hired Andrew Peel from Credit Suisse to become the bank’s head of digital asset markets. Peel was also known in his previous company as a self-described former trading subject matter expert for Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies.