The Sino-American trade war may be getting worse, but the lights remain green for bitcoin.
In brief
- The American investment bank Morgan Stanley allows all its clients to invest in bitcoin.
- The Russian central bank authorizes private banks to offer bitcoins to their customers.
- Luxembourg's sovereign wealth fund invests in bitcoin.
- The giant State Street fund predicts that institutional investors will double their investments in bitcoin within 3 years.
The banking sector embraces bitcoin!
Last week, the largest European bank published a report predicting the entry of bitcoin into central bank reserves before 2030. This week, it was the turn of the third largest American investment bank to take the plunge.
Morgan Stanley has just authorized its financial advisors to offer bitcoin. Up to 4% of their portfolio. See more if the customer requests it.
Morgan Stanley had already offered Bitcoin ETFs (IBIT from BlackRock and FBTC from Fidelity) since August 2024, but only to those with at least $1.5 million in assets…
From now on, all types of accounts, including retirement savings accounts, will be able to invest in bitcoin. We're talking about 16 million customers worth $8 trillion.
Things are also settling down in Russia. According to the TASS news agency, Deputy Finance Minister Ivan Chebeskov admitted that approximately 20 million Russians used cryptocurrencies and that the government should not oppose this reality.
TASS tells us in passing that cryptocurrency platforms held the equivalent of $10 billion at the end of the first quarter of 2025. An increase of 27% from one year to the next. The majority in bitcoins (62%) and stablecoins USDT and USDC (16%).
At the same time, the first deputy governor of the Russian central bank, Vladimir Chistyukhinannounced that banks could now touch bitcoin. “We have reached the point where we need to legalize cryptocurrency investments”he said.
One wonders why Russia was so sluggish when we know that Russian banks are disconnected from the SWIFT network and that around half of Russian foreign exchange reserves are frozen (~300 billion euros). But everything comes in time for those who know how to wait. Hodl!
Bitcoin, an investment, but also a currency
We are still waiting for other countries to follow in El Salvador's footsteps by removing capital gains taxes for bitcoin payments.
But maybe not for long. The Brazilian Chamber of Deputies rejected the proposal for such a tax on October 10 (18%). The Brazilian Parliament wants to preserve the tax exemption for capital gains of up to $6,500 per month.
That being said, the Brazilian Central Bank still prohibits the use of cryptocurrencies as a means of payment. But just like in Russia, 20 million citizens are demanding it. In other words, the pressure is building.
Not a month goes by without a multinational announcing that it accepts bitcoin. We learned this week that Carrefour is testing the Lightning Network and that UBER intends to implement it in the near future.
For Jack Dorsey, the founder of Twitter and CEO of Block“we need a tax exemption for daily bitcoin transactions”. US Senator Cynthia Lummis agrees:
The American bill, however, does not go far enough. The tax exemption is limited to payments of less than $300, up to a maximum of $5,000 per year. Could do better.
In another register, Cynthia Lummis also spoke about the “Bitcoin Act” in recent days:
Legislating takes a long time and we continue to work towards the passage of this law, but thanks to President Trump, the acquisition of funds for the strategic bitcoin reserve can begin at any time.
Cynthia Lummis, US Senator.
Furthermore, it is rumored that the Secretary of the Treasury declared during a private dinner that his government had every intention of accumulating more bitcoins…
The institutional rush has only just begun
The giant State Street fund ($4.1 trillion) predicts that most institutional investors will double their bitcoin holdings by 2028. This forecast is based on a survey of international financial institutions.
For 27% of them, bitcoin currently generates the highest returns in their digital asset portfolio. Nearly a quarter expect this to continue for the next three years.
“Our analysis suggests that by 2028, the average institutional allocation to cryptocurrencies [bitcoin] could double, from 3% to 6%, driven by tokenization and regulatory clarification”said Donna Milrod, director at State Street.
Knowing that legendary investor Ric Edelman said: “A $500,000 bitcoin is not audacious. This represents 1% of global portfolios ».
As such, the Luxembourg sovereign fund has just placed 1% of its intergenerational fund (FSIL) in bitcoin. Finance Minister Gilles Roth announced this during the presentation of the budget to the Chamber of Deputies.
The institutional rush, driven by giants like BlackRock, Strategy, Tesla, Fidelity, Morgan Stanley and even sovereign funds like that of Luxembourg, is real. It depicts a future where bitcoin could represent much more than just 1% of global wallets.
At a time when geopolitical tensions are shaking traditional markets, bitcoin remains a safe haven. An ebn power reserve currency that aspires to become the cornerstone of Bretton Woods 2.0.
Whether by central banks, institutions or individual investors, the tide is turning for digital gold. Don’t miss our article: Bitcoin: A historic end to the year?
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