Bitcoin has been the talk of the town of late and now there is some more news related to it. Reports suggest that the USD 150 billion investment unit of Morgan Stanley is exploring options to bet on Bitcoin. Counterpoint Global, an investment arm of Morgan Stanley Investment Management, is accessing if it would a viable option for investors. However, regulatory approval will be required for any such investment. The cryptocurrency has been in the news recently because of the recent surge in prices. The surge is because of the renewed interest of investors in Bitcoin. The price of the volatile digital currency has surged around 1,200 per cent since mid March last year.
Morgan Stanley has not reacted to the development yet. A spokeswoman of the multinational bank refused to comment when contacted by a media house. If the investment by Counterpoint Global materialises, it would join the list of several high profile companies that have invested in it. But it must be noted that some analysts at Morgan Stanley have been bearish on Bitcoin. An analyst had earlier said that the real value of the cryptocurrency was zero. When he made this comment, Bitcoin was trading at about USD 14,400. Now, one of the Bitcoin backers has predicted that its price would climb to USD 100,000 by end of the year. However, some analysts have urged investors to stay away from it.
According to reports, Bank of New York Mellon is planning to offer Bitcoin transactions. The bank is the country’s oldest financial institution. Mastercard too has announced that it would allow merchants to accept certain cryptocurrencies. Such announcements by some of the biggest corporations in the United States can help Bitcoin enter the mainstream. This will also allow the cryptocurrency to be accepted as a form of payment. Tesla has also invested USD 1.5 billion into the cryptocurrency. This resulted in a 16 per cent rise in the price. Microblogging site Twitter too has said that it was mulling adding some Bitcoin to its balance sheet. These announcements have to lead to wide acceptance of the cryptocurrency. It is also evident by the fact that it has gained around 60 per cent so far in 2021.
