Which bank allowed BTC allocation?

TLDR

Bank of America now allows its wealth advisers to recommend Bitcoin (BTC) exposure via spot Bitcoin ETFs.

1. Advisers at Merrill, the Private Bank, and Merrill Edge can recommend BTC ETF allocations to suitable clients as of 5 Jan, per a reported policy update from the bank. See the report on this change at Cointelegraph.
2. Internal guidance frames crypto as a modest sleeve, typically 1%4% of a portfolio for appropriate risk profiles, according to CryptoSlate.

Deep Dive

1. What Changed

Bank of America shifted from client?initiated access to adviser?led recommendations for spot Bitcoin ETFs across its wealth platforms. The banks CIO covered four funds (Bitwise BITB, Fidelity FBTC, Grayscale Mini Trust, BlackRock IBIT), emphasizing larger, liquid products for operational risk control, per a report captured on TradingView (Cointelegraph).

• This policy applies to regulated ETFs, not direct on?exchange BTC purchases or bank balance?sheet holdings.
• Recommendations remain subject to client suitability and jurisdictional rules.

2. Why It Matters

Adviser permission opens a mainstream distribution channel, potentially broadening BTC access for traditional investors with guardrails on product type and allocation size. Coverage describes a modest allocation band and training for advisers, highlighting a cautious, process?driven rollout, as noted by CryptoSlate and summarized in a Yahoo Finance piece.

• The move normalizes BTC within diversified portfolios while keeping exposure small and ETF?based.
• It does not extend to Ether or broader crypto products yet, based on current coverage in the reports above.

Conclusion

The bank is Bank of America. It now permits wealth advisers to recommend BTC allocations via a shortlist of spot Bitcoin ETFs, with typical guidance around 1%4% for suitable clients. This signals incremental institutional acceptance through regulated wrappers and controlled sizing, not a blanket embrace of broader crypto or direct coin holdings.