What Did Morgan Stanley File?

Morgan Stanley has applied for a de novo national trust bank charter that would allow it to custody digital assets, according to reporting from Bloomberg. An application from Morgan Stanley Digital Trust was filed on Feb. 18 with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, based on a public listing on the regulator’s website.

Bloomberg reported that the bank intends to use the charter not only for custody but also to conduct staking and trading for its investment clients. While the public filing does not include operational details, the scope described suggests a broader institutional offering than passive asset safekeeping.

If approved, the charter would place Morgan Stanley within the same regulatory channel used by a growing number of crypto-focused firms seeking federal oversight rather than relying solely on state-level licenses.

Investor Takeaway

Why This Reflects a Broader Internal Pivot

The filing extends what has been a steady recalibration of Morgan Stanley’s digital asset strategy. In recent months, the bank has moved from selective crypto exposure toward building out internal infrastructure and product capabilities.

Last month, Morgan Stanley appointed veteran executive Amy Oldenburg to lead its digital asset strategy in a newly created role. Earlier this year, the bank filed to list spot bitcoin and Solana exchange-traded funds and indicated it plans to launch a proprietary digital wallet later this year.

Taken together, those steps suggest the bank is preparing for deeper client engagement across custody, product structuring, and direct participation in blockchain-based services such as staking.

How the OCC Has Approached Crypto Charters

Morgan Stanley’s application comes as the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has granted conditional approvals to several crypto-native firms seeking national trust bank status. Recent approvals have included Crypto.com and Stripe subsidiary Bridge.

In December, the OCC also granted conditional approval to Ripple, Circle, BitGo, Fidelity Digital Assets, and Paxos. Those approvals reflect a regulatory pathway for firms looking to operate under federal banking oversight rather than patchwork state regimes.

For a large traditional bank, pursuing the same structure signals that digital asset custody and related services are moving closer to the core of regulated financial infrastructure rather than remaining in the periphery.

What Comes Next?

A de novo charter application triggers a review process that can take months, with regulators assessing capital structure, risk controls, compliance systems, and operational readiness. Approval would allow Morgan Stanley Digital Trust to operate as a federally supervised trust bank, though the exact scope of permissible activities will depend on the final authorization terms.

The expansion into staking and trading under a trust structure would also raise questions about how traditional banking oversight intersects with blockchain validation services and crypto market execution. Those activities carry distinct operational and regulatory considerations compared with standard custody.

For clients, the move could mean access to integrated crypto services within an established institutional platform. For competitors, it adds another major financial institution to the list of firms seeking direct infrastructure control rather than outsourcing digital asset functions.

As federal regulators continue to process charter applications from both crypto-native firms and established banks, the approval — or denial — of Morgan Stanley’s request will offer insight into how far U.S. authorities are prepared to extend trust-bank frameworks into the digital asset sector.