Morgan Stanley is now the first large U.S. bank to offer bitcoin funds to its wealth management clients, according to CNBC.
The move is significant for bitcoin as Morgan Stanley is a titan in the banking world and has $4 trillion in client assets, CNBC reported.
It also shows a step toward bitcoin becoming a more accepted asset class, with the move being made after clients demanded more access to the cryptocurrency. Because of bitcoin’s rise in popularity over the past year, multiple firms have had to reconsider their relationships with the digital currency, according to CNBC.
In other news, Coinbase, the largest U.S. crypto exchange, has a valuation of $68 billion, Reuters reported. The company is also planning a stock market listing this year.
According to Reuters, the valuation is a sign of just how popular Coinbase is, with the site going in lockstep with the popularity of bitcoin.
Coinbase’s valuation is almost 53 times its 2020 revenue, Reuters reported, and the high numbers also give confidence that regulators will approve its listing.
Meanwhile, ATM network Bitcoin Depot has launched over 100 new bitcoin ATMs in 24 states, according to a press release.
The company has now doubled its count of bitcoin ATMs over the last six months, with over 2,000 across the globe, the release stated. The new U.S. kiosks will be popping up in several states, including 14 in Alabama, 13 in Minnesota, 12 in Florida and 12 in California.
In total, there are 115 new kiosks, which Bitcoin Depot President and CEO Brandon Mintz said in the release will offer “a lot of opportunities for people that don’t have access to traditional financial services, like banks.”
Lastly, the Stellar Development Foundation has announced a $750,000 Enterprise Fund investment in the FinTech startup Cowrie Integrated Systems, according to a press release.
Cowrie Integrated Systems, based in the U.K., intends to use the money to expand further and develop payment corridors in and out of Africa, the release stated. The rollout will focus on Nigeria, which is the largest economy in the area.
