Morgan Stanley Seeks Approval for Crypto-Focused National Trust Bank
- Morgan Stanley filed an application with the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) on February 18, seeking to establish a crypto-focused national trust bank.
- The proposed bank, named Morgan Stanley Digital Trust National Association, will be headquartered in Purchase, New York.
- The OCC has opened a comment period on the application until March 20.
- Morgan Stanley plans to launch crypto trading for E-trade clients this year, starting with Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana.
- This move follows other firms like Ripple and Circle that have received conditional approval for similar trust charters.
Morgan Stanley’s application reflects a growing trend among financial institutions to expand into regulated digital asset services, particularly in trust and custody offerings. The firm has also opened Bitcoin investments to its wealth clients through crypto ETFs.
With its trust charter filing, Morgan Stanley is positioning itself alongside other major players in the crypto space as it seeks to enhance its digital asset capabilities. (Source)
