Morgan Stanley has filed for a national trust bank charter with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to provide cryptocurrency custody services to institutional clients. The application, submitted on February 18, aims to position the Wall Street giant as a direct competitor to crypto-native custodians. This move reflects a broader trend of traditional banks expanding into digital assets amid a more favorable regulatory environment.
Morgan Stanley, a New York-based banking giant managing $9 trillion in assets, submitted a de novo application for a national trust bank charter to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) on February 18. The proposed entity, named Morgan Stanley Digital Trust, would enable the firm to offer direct cryptocurrency custody, trading, and staking services for institutional clients, according to filings reported by Bloomberg and other outlets.
This application marks a significant escalation in Morgan Stanley's involvement in the digital asset space. The bank began offering wealthy clients exposure to Bitcoin through funds like those from Galaxy Digital in 2021. In 2025, it partnered with stablecoin infrastructure firm Zerohash to allow trading of Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana on its online brokerage platform. Last month, Morgan Stanley filed to launch its own Bitcoin and Ethereum exchange-traded funds (ETFs). CEO and Chairman Ted Pick stated last year that the bank was collaborating with regulators to offer crypto services safely.
If approved, the charter would allow Morgan Stanley to compete directly with firms such as BitGo and Anchorage Digital, which have received conditional OCC approvals. Other crypto companies, including Coinbase, World Liberty Financial, Crypto.com, Ripple, Circle, and BitGo, have also pursued similar banking licenses to custody assets and handle customer funds like traditional banks.
The filing aligns with a shifting regulatory landscape under the Trump administration, which has received support from digital asset entrepreneurs and is providing clearer guidelines for financial institutions. Industry observers note this as part of a wider push by Wall Street firms into crypto. Bitwise CEO Hunter Horsley commented, “People are going to be stunned this year — The world’s largest institutions and corporates are coming fully into crypto.”
Morgan Stanley's strategy separates institutional services, including investments in blockchain infrastructure for decentralized finance and real-world asset tokenization, from retail offerings. The firm plans to launch direct cryptocurrency trading on its E*TRADE platform in the first half of 2026, targeting Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana for everyday investors. A recent job posting seeks a lead engineer with expertise in public blockchains like Ethereum and Polygon, as well as private networks such as Hyperledger and Canton, to bridge institutional assets with public liquidity.
Morgan Stanley did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the application.
