In-Depth Exploration of Bitcoin as a Global Reserve Currency
On May 5, 2025, Morgan Stanley’s Wealth Management Department released a report on cryptocurrency investment strategies, delving into the question, “Should Bitcoin be included in global monetary reserves?” The report discusses the feasibility of incorporating Bitcoin into a newly established “Strategic Bitcoin Reserve,” as well as several key issues that this initiative would raise, including: Is Bitcoin suitable as a reserve currency? What indicators should investors use to compare Bitcoin with existing reserve currencies? What is Bitcoin’s potential share in global monetary reserves?
The report notes that Bitcoin currently has a market capitalization of $1.87 trillion. Morgan Stanley estimates that allocating $370 billion to Bitcoin would reflect its weight in the global asset market. The report also points out that if the United States were to hold a reserve equivalent to 12% to 17% of the global Bitcoin supply, it would be on par with other reserve currencies.
At the time of this study’s release, the Trump administration is advancing plans for a “Strategic Bitcoin Reserve.” In March of this year, an executive order directed the establishment of a federal agency to manage Bitcoin assets. Morgan Stanley indicated that, despite current volatility temporarily preventing Bitcoin from gaining formal reserve status, the declining trend in volatility shows potential. They added that once Bitcoin’s volatility falls below a certain threshold, the adoption rate as a reserve asset could accelerate rapidly.
It is worth mentioning that Morgan Stanley itself is increasing its participation in the cryptocurrency market. According to previous reports from Zombit, Morgan Stanley plans to add spot trading for Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies on its electronic trading platform, E*TRADE. The project’s goal is to enable E*TRADE’s retail clients to buy and sell mainstream cryptocurrencies directly through their existing brokerage accounts. However, Bloomberg emphasizes that this plan is still in the preliminary planning stage.
The service is expected to launch as early as next year, marking Morgan Stanley’s largest deployment in the Bitcoin and cryptocurrency service sector for retail investors to date.
