Cryptocurrency nears asset class 'threshold', Morgan Stanley says

Morgan Stanley's wealth management strategists sees cryptocurrency near the point where it transforms from a speculative investment opportunity to an "investable asset class," according to a recent note.That transformation requires progress on both the supply and demand sides, the note's authors, Lisa Shalett, chief investment officer and head of the Global Investment Office, Morgan Stanley Wealth Management, and Denny Galindo, investment strategist."With cryptocurrency, we think that threshold is being reached. A firming regulatory framework, deepening liquidity, availability of products and growing investor interest — especially among institutional investors — have coalesced."Cryptocurrency "has crossed the critical thresholds of market liquidity, regulatory scrutiny and institutional acceptance at a time when managing cash and achieving portfolio diversification has become ever more challenging and meaningful," they write.Still, they point to the "multitude of risks" while an asset is still in its speculative phase — "some predictable, some identified and some yet to be uncovered."As such,