Morgan Stanley Targets Direct Crypto Custody With Trust Bank Application

Morgan Stanley has applied to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) for a national trust bank charter to provide direct cryptocurrency custody for its institutional clients, signaling a major move by Wall Street into digital assets. If approved, this charter would position Morgan Stanley as a direct competitor to crypto-native custodians like BitGo and Anchorage Digital. This filing is part of a dual digital asset strategy: the institutional side involves building blockchain infrastructure for DeFi and tokenization, while the retail side plans to launch direct trading of Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana on its ETrade platform in the first half of 2026. This acceleration in crypto roadmaps by legacy banks is attributed to a more accommodating regulatory environment in Washington.

(Source：BeInCrypto)