Bank of America Goes Bullish: Recommends 1–4% Client Allocation to Bitcoin

Wall Street's old guard just blinked—and it's flashing crypto green.

The Institutional Shift

Forget the cautious whispers from legacy finance. Bank of America is now telling its wealth management clients to put skin in the game. The recommendation? Allocate between 1% and 4% of a portfolio to Bitcoin. It's not a timid dip of the toe; it's a structured entry for capital that typically views digital assets as a speculative sideshow.

Portfolio Math Meets Digital Gold

The move signals a fundamental recalculation. Analysts are framing Bitcoin not as a fringe gamble, but as a modern store of value—a non-correlated asset that can hedge against traditional market tremors. The 1–4% range is strategic: meaningful enough to impact returns, but contained to manage the volatility that still makes boardrooms sweat.

Mainstream's New Playbook

This isn't about chasing hype. It's a cold, institutional acknowledgment that digital asset infrastructure—from custody to ETFs—has matured. The gates aren't just opening; the guards are now handing out maps. Of course, it took a 1,000% rally and competitors stealing their lunch for them to finally draft the memo.

The final take? When a bank that once built fortunes on fees for moving fiat starts endorsing the system designed to bypass it, you know the game has changed. The question for clients is no longer 'if,' but 'how much.'

Bank of America is making one of its biggest moves into crypto yet. Beginning in January, the bank will let its wealth advisers recommend putting 1% to 4% of a client’s portfolio into digital assets, mainly through spot Bitcoin ETFs.

Until now, Bank of America allowed clients to buy crypto on their own but did not let advisers suggest it. This policy change opens the door for more than 15,000 advisers to include crypto in investment plans for eligible customers.

The bank’s wealth and private banking division, which manages more than $2 trillion, will begin offering formal research and guidance on four spot bitcoin ETFs starting January 5, 2026. These ETFs include:

• BlackRock iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT)
  
• Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC)
  
• Bitwise Bitcoin ETF (BITB)
  
• Grayscale Bitcoin Mini Trust (BTC)
  

Bank of America’s Chief Investment Officer, Chris Hyzy, said that a small allocation to digital assets may be suitable for investors who are comfortable with higher volatility and want exposure to new technology trends. He noted that the recommended range of 1%–4% is designed to be “modest” and focused on regulated products.

This decision comes shortly after Vanguard opened access to crypto ETFs for its brokerage clients, adding pressure on other major financial firms like Wells Fargo and Goldman Sachs to expand their own crypto offerings. With Morgan Stanley already recommending 2%–4% and Fidelity allowing up to 5%, Wall Street is clearly shifting toward adopting Bitcoin as a legitimate part of a diversified portfolio.

Many in the crypto community see this as a historic moment. With Bank of America now joining BlackRock, Fidelity, and other major players, Bitcoin is becoming more widely accepted in traditional finance than ever before. 

Bitcoin is trading around $91,000 and has gained more than 8% in the last 24 hours.