Morgan Stanley has taken another step deeper into digital assets, filing for a new national trust bank charter that would allow the firm to custody cryptocurrencies and carry out related services for clients in the United States.
Key Takeaways:
- Morgan Stanley applied for a national trust charter to custody crypto and provide trading and staking services.
- The move is part of a broader institutional push for regulated digital asset infrastructure.
- Approval would let the bank hold client crypto directly as it expands ETFs and wealth management offerings.
A public filing with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency shows the application, submitted Feb. 18, is under the name Morgan Stanley Digital Trust, National Association.
The move would establish a newly created banking entity rather than an acquired institution.
Morgan Stanley Subsidiary to Offer Crypto Custody, Trading and Staking Services
According to reports from Bloomberg and Forbes, the subsidiary would provide custody for selected digital assets and support investment activity through purchases, sales, swaps and transfers.
The filing also outlines plans to offer staking services, an increasingly common feature among institutional crypto platforms.
A national trust charter permits fiduciary operations such as asset safekeeping, custody and trust services. “De novo” status indicates the bank is being formed from scratch.
If approved, it would mark Morgan Stanley’s first trust charter dedicated specifically to crypto.
The application comes amid a broader push by financial institutions to secure federal oversight for digital asset operations.
More recently, payments firms and trading platforms, among them Stripe-owned Bridge and Crypto.com, have also pursued similar approvals.
The race reflects growing demand from institutional clients seeking regulated custody and trading infrastructure following years of market volatility and high-profile exchange failures.
Morgan Stanley has been steadily expanding its presence in the sector. In January, the bank appointed equity markets executive Amy Oldenburg to lead a newly formed digital asset division.
Job postings indicate the firm is hiring additional specialists across strategy and product roles tied to crypto services.
The investment bank has also filed to launch spot Bitcoin and Solana exchange-traded funds, followed by a proposed staked Ether ETF.
Together, the filings suggest a wider strategy aimed at integrating digital assets into traditional wealth management offerings.
If regulators approve the charter, Morgan Stanley would be able to directly safeguard client holdings instead of relying on third-party custodians, potentially positioning the firm as a full-service provider for institutional crypto investors.
OCC Grants Trust Bank Charters to Major Crypto Firms
The OCC approved national trust bank charters in December for a slate of crypto and digital asset firms, including BitGo, Fidelity Digital Assets, Circle, Ripple and Paxos, widening the on ramp for tokenized finance.
Trust banks sit in a narrower lane than full-service banks, since they generally cannot take deposits or make loans.
Even so, the model can still open doors for stablecoin issuers that want to custody assets and run conversion and settlement services without relying entirely on third-party providers.
Earlier this year, World Liberty Financial also filed for a US national banking charter as stablecoins shift from a trading tool into payment infrastructure.
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