It’s remarkable how far Bitcoin has come from its wild west days. One of America’s largest banks, Bank of America, is now allowing its financial advisers to proactively recommend Bitcoin ETFs to clients—rather than only executing trades when clients specifically request them.
This is a major shift. Until now, if you wanted Bitcoin exposure through Merrill, Bank of America Private Bank, or Merrill Edge, you had to bring it up yourself. Advisers could place the trade, but they weren’t allowed to suggest Bitcoin as part of a portfolio. That barrier is now gone.
The Four Funds That Got the Green Light
Bank of America’s Chief Investment Office has approved just four spot Bitcoin ETFs:
Bitwise Bitcoin ETF (BITB)
Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC)
Grayscale Bitcoin Mini Trust (
$BTC )
BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT)
These aren’t random picks. They’re the heavyweights of the crypto ETF space, offering deep liquidity and strong institutional backing.
According to Samar Sen, APAC Head at Talos, these firms have invested heavily in infrastructure to manage risk and execute trades smoothly. In other words, this isn’t speculation—it’s a serious, professional setup.
No More Side Requests—A Normal Portfolio Conversation
The real change is this: more than 15,000 Bank of America wealth advisers can now include Bitcoin in regular portfolio discussions, treating it like a standard asset class rather than something exotic.
The bank is fully supporting this move with research, training, and clear guidelines. For suitable clients, advisers may recommend allocating 1% to 4% of a portfolio to Bitcoin.
Think about that for a moment—one of America’s top banks is now publishing research on how much Bitcoin should be in a portfolio. Not long ago, crypto was dismissed as “internet funny money.”
What About Ethereum?
For now, Bank of America is focused only on Bitcoin—not Ethereum or any other cryptocurrencies. The bank hasn’t given a detailed explanation and declined to comment when asked.
Samar Sen believes expansion into other digital assets will only happen once their liquidity and infrastructure reach Bitcoin’s level. Some major asset managers are working on multi-crypto ETFs, but for now, Bitcoin remains the only digital asset with full institutional approval.
What Does This All Really Mean?
This shift—from “we’ll do it if you insist” to “here’s why this could make sense for you”—marks a major turning point in how traditional finance views crypto.
The conversation is no longer about quick riches. It’s about diversification, backed by research and risk management.
Of course, whether Bitcoin fits into your personal portfolio depends on your risk tolerance, time horizon, and individual circumstances. But the fact that advisers at the world’s largest banks can now raise this topic themselves? That’s the kind of mainstream acceptance the crypto space has been waiting for.
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