Morgan Stanley Files for Crypto Custody
Morgan Stanley has filed for a national trust bank charter to custody digital assets for its clients. The move would allow the bank to offer direct staking and trading services, potentially unlocking its $7 trillion client base for direct crypto investment.
The application was formally filed with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) on February 18, 2026. The proposed new entity is named “Morgan Stanley Digital Trust, National Association.” This move for a "de novo" national trust bank charter means the firm is creating a new entity from scratch rather than acquiring an existing one. The bank plans to offer custody for a range of digital assets, explicitly mentioning Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and Solana (SOL). Beyond simple custody, the charter would allow Morgan Stanley to execute purchases, sales, and swaps, as well as facilitate staking for clients to earn rewards on their assets. This filing is part of a broader expansion into digital assets for the financial giant. In January 2026, the firm appointed Amy Oldenburg to lead its digital asset strategy and also filed for spot ETFs tracking Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana. In a recent public appearance, Oldenburg emphasized the need to build these capabilities in-house to maintain the trusted Morgan Stanley brand. The move places Morgan Stanley in direct competition with both crypto-native custodians like Anchorage Digital and BitGo, and traditional finance rivals. The OCC has already granted conditional approvals for similar crypto trust charters to firms including Ripple, Fidelity Digital Assets, Paxos, and Crypto.com.
