Bitcoin's price was back above $57,000 this morning after Morgan Stanley said late last week that it plans to offer its high net worth clients exposure to the crypto.

Higher net worth individuals with advisers are one of the groups that is likely to have less exposure to cryptoassets thus far, with many of the traditional ways they invest - such as via funds - still in their relative infancy when it comes to bitcoin (BITCOMP).

On Friday in an internal memo, Morgan Stanley (MS) told its financial advisers it would launch access to three funds to allow its clients to have exposure to bitcoin, according to reports.

As banks increasingly consider allocations to cryptoassets on behalf of clients, the expectation is that there will be a fresh wave of interest for bitcoin and its peers, which could have a significant impact on demand.

Bitcoin has already rallied significantly this year, peaking above $60,000 earlier this month.

Simon Peters, analyst, eToro

Deutsche Bank: Bitcoin too important to ignore

Global banking giant Deutsche Bank (DB) has said bitcoin is now “too important to ignore” for global regulators, and expects governments to start regulating the cryptoasset by the end of 2021.

With a market capitalisation of $1 trillion and potential for continued growth, Deutsche Bank analysts have made several predictions about its future, foreseeing potential further rises in price, as well as oversight from global regulators.

In a report titled “The Future of Payments: Series 2 Part III. Bitcoins: Can the Tinkerbell Effect Become a Self-Fulfilling Prophecy?”, Deutsche Bank analysts reviewed the journey bitcoin has been on so far, before adding that the price “could continue to rise” further as long as asset managers and companies continue to enter the market.

It added that central banks and governments now “understand that Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are here to stay” and it therefore expects them to start regulating the cryptoasset by late 2021.

Ronaldo becomes first footballer to be paid in cryptocurrency

Christiano Ronaldo has reportedly become the first footballer to be paid in cryptocurrency following a record-breaking goal tally.

Ronaldo, who currently plays for Italian giant Juventus FC, received 770 Fan Tokens - which allow Juventus supporters to interact with their club and participate in various decisions via the Socios app - prior to his match this weekend.

The 770 Fan Tokens were paid to him by fans to match his total goal tally as a professional footballer.

Twenty-four clubs currently use crypto-tokens in elite football, including Barcelona, Atletico Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain and, most recently, Manchester City. 

The tokens are traded via the Chillz’s platform, with the total value of Fan Tokens on the platform estimated at more than $400m.

David Derhy, analyst, eToro

First French digital asset pegged to the euro unveiled

The first French digital asset pegged to the euro has been created by startup the Lugh Company.

The digital asset - to be known as the Lugh - will soon be available to investors, having been devised in partnership with investment businesses in France including Coinhouse, a French cryptoasset investment business.

In order to guarantee the stability of the Lugh (EUR-L), for each digital asset issued, one euro will be held in a dedicated bank account, the Lugh Company said.

It added the digital asset had been presented to the French regulatory authorities, with the company “willing to comply with the current regulatory framework”.

Simon Peters, analyst, eToro

Greyscale launches five new digital currency investment trusts

Grayscale Investments, the world’s largest digital currency asset manager, has launched  five new digital currency investment trusts, bringing its total number of investment products to 14.

The new trusts are the Grayscale Basic Attention Token Trust, Grayscale Chainlink Trust,

Grayscale Decentraland Trust, Grayscale Filecoin Trust and Grayscale Livepeer Trust.

The launch comes amid surging interest and record prices for many cryptoassets. Greyscale’s CEO Michael Sonnenshein said digital currencies have reached an “inflection point”, with investor demand skyrocketing.

“Every day we’re seeing new entrants to what has surely become a bona fide asset class,” he said. 

David Derhy, analyst, eToro

Thailand plans to regulate stablecoins this year

The Bank of Thailand has said it plans to regulate a popular digital currency pegged to the Thai Baht later this year.

Thai Baht Digital (TBD) is a stablecoin issued by South Korean firm Terra. Under the incoming rules, Baht-denominated stablecoins such as TBD will be classified as e-money and issuers will need to be approved by the Thai central bank.

While the Bank of Thailand has said it is looking at options from market regulators on this, it said it would not be looking to regulate bitcoin and other decentralized cryptoassets.