Morgan Stanley Seeks National Trust Charter for Crypto Custody

Crypto

Morgan Stanley Seeks National Trust Charter for Crypto Custody

• Morgan Stanley applied for an OCC trust charter to launch a digital asset bank.
• The unit would offer crypto custody, trading, staking, and transfers under a regulated framework.
• The move signals deeper Wall Street integration of digital assets into core banking services.

Wall Street heavyweight Morgan Stanley has quietly applied for a new national trust bank charter focused on digital assets.

A public listing from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) shows the firms application was received on February 18, 2026. The proposed entity, named Morgan Stanley Digital Trust, National Association (MSDTNA), would be a wholly owned subsidiary dedicated to digital asset services.

Custody, Trading, Staking, and More

According to the non-confidential portions of its business plan, Morgan Stanley Digital Trust would:

• Custody certain digital assets
• Execute purchases, sales, swaps, and transfers for clients
• Facilitate fiduciary staking of digital assets

The move represents the firms first dedicated trust charter explicitly centered on crypto activities. While Morgan Stanley already holds two full national bank charters, this would be its first de novo trust bank with a specific digital asset mandate.

The application follows a wave of conditional crypto trust charter approvals from the OCC. In December 2025, approvals were granted to entities linked to Circle, Ripple, BitGo, Fidelity Digital Assets, and Paxos. More recently, additional approvals went to firms affiliated with Stripe, Crypto.com, and Protego.

Critics have questioned whether digital asset custody, typically considered a non-fiduciary activity, can serve as the primary business of a national trust bank. However, the OCC recently issued Bulletin 2026-4, clarifying that national banks limited to trust company operations may engage in non-fiduciary activities alongside fiduciary services. The rule takes effect April 1, 2026.

Leaning In on Crypto Infrastructure

Amy Oldenburg, Morgan Stanleys Head of Digital Asset Strategy, recently emphasized the need to build crypto infrastructure internally rather than rely on third-party providers. Speaking at the Bitcoin For Corporations conference in Las Vegas, she suggested the firm wants digital assets fully integrated into its own platform, reinforcing trust in the Morgan Stanley brand.

Beyond custody and trading, the bank is also exploring Bitcoin lending and yield-generation services, potentially expanding cryptos role from simple asset exposure to income-producing products.

In January 2026, Morgan Stanley filed S-1 applications for spot Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana exchange-traded funds with the SEC. It later added a staked Ether ETF filing, signaling interest in on-chain yield products.

The firm had already relaxed prior restrictions in October 2025, allowing financial advisors to offer crypto exchange-traded products to all clients, including retirement accounts. Previously, access was limited to high-net-worth clients with aggressive risk tolerance.

Structural Shift in Wall Street

Morgan Stanley manages $9.3 trillion in client assets, according to its latest quarterly report, with over $350 billion in net new assets added in Q4 2025.

Data from River indicate that major financial institutions such as Fidelity Investments, Bank of America, and Morgan Stanley recommend allocating 1–5% of portfolios to Bitcoin.

If approved, the trust charter would allow Morgan Stanley to hold digital assets directly on behalf of clients under a regulated framework. For Bitcoin and the digital asset market, Morgan Stanleys move signals something deeper than experimentation. It points to continued integration of crypto into the core plumbing of traditional finance.