Merrill Lynch banned its clients from investing in bitcoin

[a7goo]

Merrill Lynch, a major US-based bank that was acquired by Bank of America, banned its clients from investing in bitcoin.
The decision  is driven by concerns pertaining to suitability and eligibility standards bitcoin.
What motivates do you to think about?

[Hydrogen]

Found a source for OP's claims. (Nice find, OP!)

Merrill Lynch bans clients from investing in Silbert bitcoin fund

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Bank of America Merrill Lynch banned clients from investing in one of bitcoin mogul Barry Silbert’s top funds last month, according to a memo seen by Reuters.

As of Dec. 8, the Wall Street brokerage stopped approving new orders for the Bitcoin Investment Trust due to concerns about the “suitability and eligibility standards of this product,” according to the memo sent to roughly 17,000 brokers at Merrill Lynch and Merrill Edge, a unit for clients who manage their own trades.

Bitcoin Investment Trust is run by Grayscale Investments, which is led by Silbert. A former Wall Street investment banker and prominent supporter of cryptocurrencies, Silbert’s role in the world of digital coins was the subject of a Reuters special report last month.

“We look forward to speaking with Merrill Lynch and addressing any questions or concerns they have about the Bitcoin Investment Trust,” Silbert told Reuters in an email. “We are unaware of any similar policies at other brokerage firms.”

Wall Street has taken a cautious approach to digital currencies, which are unregulated and have very volatile trading patterns. Last month, Chicago-based derivatives exchanges Cboe Global Markets and the CME Group launched bitcoin futures, but some banks and brokerages remain reluctant to trade them.

Millions of investors have piled into bitcoin and other digital currencies prompting warnings of a bubble from the likes of JPMorgan Chase Chief Executive Jamie Dimon, who has likened bitcoin to a “fraud” that will eventually blow up.

Shares in Bitcoin Investment Trust jumped over 1,550 percent last year, more than the 1,300 percent plus gain of bitcoin. The fund was created for investors seeking exposure to bitcoin and trades “over the counter” in less formal exchanges than those used for typical stocks.

Before last month’s ban, clients of Merrill Lynch’s brokerage and Merrill Edge were able to buy stakes in Bitcoin Investment Trust, which trade at a fraction of a bitcoin. The digital currency is currently valued at around $15,000.

Merrill Lynch brokerage clients with historic positions in the Bitcoin Investment Trust fund can maintain them, but clients with fee-based advisory accounts have to sell their holdings, according to the memo.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-bank-of-america-merrill-lynch-bitcoin/merrill-lynch-bans-clients-from-investing-in-silbert-bitcoin-fund-idUSKBN1ET02N

....

I would be interested to know how others interpret this.

The bottom line here, could be this:

Shares in Bitcoin Investment Trust jumped over 1,550 percent last year, more than the 1,300 percent plus gain of bitcoin. The fund was created for investors seeking exposure to bitcoin and trades “over the counter” in less formal exchanges than those used for typical stocks.

The quotation shows what a big money maker bitcoin was over the past 16 months.

Cracking down on things which are perceived as good methods for making money could be suicidal for banks & investing firms. It could create division among the top one percenters and conflict between elites and the wealthy. It could also create opportunity where smaller firms who offer bitcoin and crypto investing could rise up the ranks to dethrone those at the top of the finance paradigm (in most extreme cases).

Those are my thoughts. I would be interested to hear what others think of this.

[IntuitiveCoins]

Didn't a major banker call Bitcoin a scam, said that he would fire any of his employees who he knew bought them simply because of how stupid they are, then price went down, then a few days later it was found that he bought a lot of them?

[squatz1]

Didn't a major banker call Bitcoin a scam, said that he would fire any of his employees who he knew bought them simply because of how stupid they are, then price went down, then a few days later it was found that he bought a lot of them?

Here you are - https://news.bitcoin.com/after-the-boss-calls-bitcoin-a-fraud-jp-morgan-buys-the-dip/

I mean it's not surprising to see people from banking reacting like this, either they're scared that Bitcoin and the alts are going to take from them OR they know the position of power they have with their clients so they can buy the dip and try to make some money for themselves. This is horrible behavior when looking at it from an ethics standpoints, but the scum is probably pretty known already to everyone in the banking world


DONT TRUST ANYONE -- always do your own research.

[The_Dark_Knight]

What causes me the biggest curiosity is not they said that but how do you expect to enforce this? It is not like they gave a recommendation to their clients to avoid bitcoin, it says they banned their clients from investing in it, do they have that kind of power over the money of their clients? And if they do, who is dumb enough to sign something that gives someone else that much power over your money.

[IntuitiveCoins]

Didn't a major banker call Bitcoin a scam, said that he would fire any of his employees who he knew bought them simply because of how stupid they are, then price went down, then a few days later it was found that he bought a lot of them?

Here you are - https://news.bitcoin.com/after-the-boss-calls-bitcoin-a-fraud-jp-morgan-buys-the-dip/

I mean it's not surprising to see people from banking reacting like this, either they're scared that Bitcoin and the alts are going to take from them OR they know the position of power they have with their clients so they can buy the dip and try to make some money for themselves. This is horrible behavior when looking at it from an ethics standpoints, but the scum is probably pretty known already to everyone in the banking world


DONT TRUST ANYONE -- always do your own research.

Thank you, that's exactly the article that I was talking about. And I'm going to bookmark it because it's such an important thing to know about if I want to be part of this.

[iamTom123]

Didn't a major banker call Bitcoin a scam, said that he would fire any of his employees who he knew bought them simply because of how stupid they are, then price went down, then a few days later it was found that he bought a lot of them?

That must be the popular Jamie Dimon and I think he has already changed his own mind about Bitcoin. Now, this kind of dynamic concerning many big banks we have is just a natural reaction to the disrupting effect of Bitcoin (and the whole cryptocurrency movement for that matter) to the banking industry. Aside from the fact that Bitcoin is something many of them quite don't (and may not ever) understand that is why they are careful with this whole new thing, Bitcoin is actually an 'enemy' of the banking sector though am predicting that later on these two would actually be good friends in the name of business or making money. Right now, Bitcoin is still relatively young and many banks don't know how to handle Bitcoin so they choose to shy away for a while. The roller-coaster ride of Bitcoin will continue and it wills till be a long way to go before we can get the mainstream adoption and acceptance but we are getting to be there albeit slowly for now.

[Polipog]

This is only my opinion, maybe merril lynch banks are not surely on what really bitcoin future happen, merril lynch are only doing safety first before any risky happening soon by holding bitcoin stocks. So, they are banned bitcoin transaction in such different branches, but it is only merril lynch banks, but we know that is only a threat, the founder of bitcoin can easilly solve and handle that kind of problem.

[trecore4]

I still dont understand why we can't we walk hand in hand and make a better portfolio within this world. I mean banks, financial institutions and government and people all are the same. We are the only one who runs it right? Then why not welcome the bitcoin in proper way and make a way out. May be a middle way where we all can fit in properly and then run the whole thing.

Just imagine, bitcoin and fiat being used under the same roof. When there is trouble of fiat we could switch to bitcoin and money makers can bring in support by inevstment into bitcoin. Many things can be planned for the long terms.

[chiggz]

There was news a few months ago on how Merrill Lynch Supports Blockchain Innovation For Trade Finance.

Found it!
https://www.ethnews.com/bank-of-america-merrill-lynch-supports-blockchain-innovation-for-trade-finance

How can they tell what you want to invest in? Its our money and we have the right to decide what to invest in and what not. Investments banks like Goldman & Morgan Stanley will take no issue with facilitating bitcoin futures trades, But more retail-facing banks like JP Demon and Bank of America will fear seeing their retail deposits with no interest flee into the crypto promised land.

[TheUltraElite]

This shows that the banks are terribly afraid of the prowess of bitcoin and the acceptance and popularity bitcoin and crypto are gaining in the recent days. No wonder they are scared as shit and thus adopting to their sabotage tactics and scare tactics to keep people away from these.

There is nothing to fear in this. Invest in crypto if you want and do so at your own risk - dont listen to what others are saying because that was what crypto was created for - everyone is free to choose their mode of payment and not depend on banks for every financial aspect.

[Happydd]

Merrill Lynch, a major US-based bank that was acquired by Bank of America, banned its clients from investing in bitcoin.
The decision  is driven by concerns pertaining to suitability and eligibility standards bitcoin.
What motivates do you to think about?

Bankers in the US say that bitcoin is a scam, so people are not allowed to participate in bitcoin. Because there is no government or law that can regulate or regulate bitcoin, it is easy to evaporate. In contrast, in Japan they accepted bitcoin, attracting a lot of participants.

[jseverson]

There was news a few months ago on how Merrill Lynch Supports Blockchain Innovation For Trade Finance.

Found it!
https://www.ethnews.com/bank-of-america-merrill-lynch-supports-blockchain-innovation-for-trade-finance

How can they tell what you want to invest in? Its our money and we have the right to decide what to invest in and what not. Investments banks like Goldman & Morgan Stanley will take no issue with facilitating bitcoin futures trades, But more retail-facing banks like JP Demon and Bank of America will fear seeing their retail deposits with no interest flee into the crypto promised land.

Well, Merrill Lynch offers wealth management services, so it's kind of their job to advise their clients against unwise investments. Their reputation is at stake along with their clients' money, so I could kind of understand why they would take such a step, given how volatile and unpredictable Bitcoin is. Everyone who's not a client can still invest in whatever they want.

This could mean that they're going to miss out on large gains, but whatever.

[BillCoin]

This kind of restriction is not strange to us, we have seen JP Morgan CEO doing just the same thing, and also said that he is going to fire any of his employers that is going to be found using/trading bitcoin.
Few weeks after this statement, he changed his mind and said in public that whag he said "didn't apply to all of the coins but for just some of them".

Such statements shouldn't fear us as we are hearing them on a daily basis.

[arpon11]

All is create FUD in other to bring bitcoin price down so that them and their families and associate can buy bitcoin at a very cheap price and make more profit when the price go up. Jamie did this last time and his associates and daughter bought bitcoin and sold it at a very high price  we should trying to study the tricks of this men in other to remain confident with the market. Who ever speak against bitcoin now should be see as a personal strategy in other to gain from the market.