Former United States Securities and Exchange Commission official John Reed Stark warns that Morgan Stanley’s Bitcoin ETF pitch could burden its compliance department.
Morgan Stanley, the largest wealth manager in the United States, could face intense compliance scrutiny after allowing its entire team of financial advisors access to Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), warns crypto skeptic John Reed Stark, a former Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) official.
“By unleashing its legion of 15,000 brokers to pitch Bitcoin, Morgan Stanley has just voluntarily subjected themselves to what will likely become the largest SEC and FINRA examination sweep in history,” John Reed Stark wrote in an Aug. 9 X statement.
“IMHO, identifying violations will be like shooting fish in a barrel. So whoever Morgan Stanley’s current compliance director is — well, good luck with that,” Stark added.
