Wells Fargo goes to the SEC, asking permission for a new Bitcoin Fund

Wells Fargo, the multinational banking giant based in the United States, has come to an idea to register a Bitcoin fund. However, it first needs the SEC’s approval to do so.

The bank’s filing with the Commission revealed that the financial institution teamed up with two other entities — the New York Digital Investment Group (NYDIG) and FS Investments. Their proposal is to name the product “FS NYDIG Bitcoin Fund I, LP.”

Of course, not all of the details regarding the potential fund are known as of yet, which originally caused a lot of speculation that the intended fund might be actively managed, similarly to JPMorgan’s approach. However, the filing seems to indicate that the newly-filed fund would be passive, after all.

Crypto adoption grows among US banking institutions

Earlier in 2021, Darrel Cronk, the active president of Wells Fargo, suggested that the institution could very well become the next Wall Street giant to turn its gaze towards the crypto industry. With several other banks already doing so, the rest were sure to follow in order to provide similar services and not remain left behind.

This was particularly important given the surging amount of institutional demand, as one after another, institutional investors started getting more and more involved.

However, it is worth noting that Cronk did not offer a lot of details at the time, and he certainly did not specify what the new potential product would be about. He only said that it was in the final stages of development.

This was back in May 2021, and since then, the development has been completed, and the product is now ready to launch. The only think lacking is the green light from the US SEC, which was requested now.

On the plus side, Wells Fargo’s filing truly confirms that the cryptocurrency industry adoption rate is skyrocketing, especially when it comes to US banks and financial institutions. JPMorgan is an obvious example, but also Goldman Sachs, which used to be one of the harshest critics of the crypto industry. Now, it has a filing for Bitcoin ETF with the SEC.

Morgan Stanley also allowed its clients to access Bitcoin (BTC/USD), while BNY Mellon enabled custody services for its customers. And, while not a Wall Street company, PayPal is still a prime example of how a crypto-skeptical firm can try giving cryptos a chance and adopting them in full after seeing the demand, benefits, and potential for earning.