Morgan Stanley Wants Official Permission to Store Crypto Assets

Morgan Stanley, one of the leading investment firms on Wall Street, recently applied for a bank charter to allow its entity to hold crypto assets. The application submitted to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) revealed that this New York-based bank is forming an entity called Morgan Stanley Digital Trust. Bloomberg first reported this significant development, indicating the traditional financial industry’s serious commitment to the digital ecosystem.

Morgan Stanley’s move did not come suddenly. The company has systematically built its presence in the crypto market since 2021, starting with offering wealthy clients access to Bitcoin through funds provided by Galaxy Digital. When Morgan Stanley CEO and Chairman Ted Pick spoke last year, he confirmed that the bank was working with regulators to identify safe ways to offer crypto services to clients.

Strategic Expansion: Morgan Stanley’s Journey into the Digital Ecosystem

Morgan Stanley’s commitment has become more concrete in recent years. By 2025, the bank formed a partnership with Zerohash, a stablecoin infrastructure company, enabling clients to use their online brokerage platform to trade Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana. This initiative demonstrates a focus on providing secure and integrated crypto trading services.

This momentum continued when Morgan Stanley applied last month to launch its own Bitcoin and Ethereum exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Each step brings the bank closer not only to offering crypto products but also to having internal infrastructure to store and manage digital assets.

Why Bank Permits Are Important for Digital Asset Storage

Morgan Stanley’s application aligns with broader industry trends. Leading crypto companies like Coinbase and World Liberty Financial, a platform supported by the digital asset community, have also applied for banking licenses with the OCC. Regulators have granted conditional approvals to other platforms including Crypto.com, Ripple, Circle, and BitGo.

These types of licenses offer significant value: they allow companies to officially store digital assets and transfer funds for customers in the same way traditional banks do. In this context, Morgan Stanley’s application shows that Wall Street players also want to secure the ability to legally and properly store and manage their clients’ crypto assets.

This trend has strengthened since Donald Trump, who received strong support from the digital asset entrepreneur community, became president. This regulatory climate shift has pushed traditional financial institutions to accelerate their expansion into the crypto market, and Morgan Stanley is now at the forefront of this transformation.