There was a major move yesterday that's easy to overlook: Bank of America officially recommended that clients allocate up to 4% of their funds into Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies. Combined with Vanguard opening up ETF trading, the floodgates of traditional finance are opening at a visibly rapid pace.

In fact, this wave of moves was set in motion two months ago, but back then, the market was in chaos and no one paid attention.

Let's look at the timeline:
In early October, Morgan Stanley was the first to announce that it would open up crypto investment channels to all clients—notably, “any type of account” could buy, including retirement accounts. Starting October 15, their wealth advisors were able to proactively pitch crypto funds to clients.

Almost simultaneously, Citibank announced it would launch institutional-grade crypto custody services in early 2026. JPMorgan quickly followed, stating that clients would soon be able to directly trade Bitcoin and other digital assets on its platform.

Behind these moves by major banks is a staggering numbers game.

There are 300,000 financial advisors in the US wealth management channel, holding $30 trillion in client assets. If only 2% of that money flows into Bitcoin ETFs via this channel, that's $600 billion in new capital. Previously, these advisors could only recommend company-approved products, but now the barriers to entry for crypto assets are rapidly collapsing.

Even more crucial is the shift in allocation nature. Retail investors trade short-term, institutions play mid-term swings, but money coming in through wealth management channels—that’s long-term allocation capital, which won’t exit just because of market volatility. The stability and persistence of this type of capital is the real force that can change market structure.

Now the question isn’t “Will more banks follow,” but “Who will be next.”