Morgan Stanley Seeks National Trust Bank Charter for Digital Asset Custody
- Morgan Stanley filed for a de novo national trust bank charter on February 18, named “Morgan Stanley Digital Trust, National Association.”
- The charter will enable the bank to custody digital assets and facilitate transactions like purchases, sales, swaps, and crypto staking.
- This is Morgan Stanley’s first trust charter focused on crypto, following a trend of increasing applications for crypto-related national trust banks.
- In December, the OCC conditionally approved five applications for crypto-related national trust banks.
- Morgan Stanley is expanding its crypto operations, including plans for Bitcoin and Solana ETFs.
The approval of Morgan Stanley’s charter aligns with a growing interest in digital asset services among traditional financial institutions. With about 60 national trust banks supervised by the OCC in the U.S., this move highlights a significant shift towards integrating cryptocurrency into mainstream banking.
Morgan Stanley’s application marks a pivotal step in its strategy to enhance client services in digital assets as it joins other firms seeking similar charters to operate in this emerging sector.
