Morgan Stanley has applied to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency for a national trust bank charter to create Morgan Stanley Digital Trust, National Association. The proposed entity will handle direct crypto custody, fiduciary staking, and token trading for clients. The move shifts digital asset operations in-house and reduces reliance on third-party infrastructure. It marks the firm’s most substantial structural step into digital assets to date.
The new trust bank will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary based in Purchase, New York. Its mandate centers on safeguarding crypto assets under the firm’s regulated balance sheet. Morgan Stanley intends to consolidate client holdings that currently sit on external platforms. The firm has described its positioning in crypto custody as “no-fail,” signaling the importance it assigns to operational control.
At present, a meaningful share of client crypto assets remains managed through third-party providers. While functional, that arrangement leaves the bank dependent on outside infrastructure for a business it increasingly treats as core.
The trust charter would bring custody and settlement capabilities under Morgan Stanley’s direct oversight. That shift aligns with a broader contest among financial and crypto firms to control digital asset infrastructure.
Rather than compete solely for trading volume, firms now focus on custody, settlement, and fiduciary services tied to tokenized assets. These functions mirror the role of clearinghouses and custodial banks in traditional markets. They generate steady revenue and sit deep within the market structure.
Crypto-native firms have also pursued regulated status. Crypto.com announced conditional governmental approval for a bank charter on February 23, 2026. Earlier, the OCC granted conditional bank charters to companies including Circle, Ripple, and BitGo. The approvals signal growing interest in regulated trust structures for digital assets.
The competition now centers on who will control the digital asset back office. Who will anchor custody and settlement as tokenized ownership expands?
The charter application fits within a wider digital asset strategy unfolding across Morgan Stanley’s business lines. In the first half of 2026, the firm plans to launch direct spot trading for Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana through its E*Trade platform.
Retail clients will access crypto inside a traditional brokerage interface instead of a standalone exchange. Later in 2026, Morgan Stanley intends to end its technology partnership with Zero Hash. The bank plans to operate on its own custody and exchange infrastructure.
Separately, the firm has filed for branded spot Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana exchange-traded funds. The filings position it to become the first major US bank to issue such products directly rather than through an asset management affiliate.
Further out, Morgan Stanley is exploring Bitcoin-backed lending and yield-bearing products. Those offerings would depend on the maturation of its native custody infrastructure.
Alongside institutional expansion, enforcement agencies continue to pursue criminal networks linked to digital assets. The Department of Justice recently announced a $580 million seizure tied to fraud operations.
Authorities identified scam compounds operating in Southeast Asia. Many workers in those compounds were recruited under false promises of legitimate jobs abroad. Organizers confiscated documents and forced individuals to conduct fraud under threat of abuse.
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The DOJ acknowledged that these networks combine financial crime and human trafficking. Prosecutors face jurisdictional complexity when criminal groups operate inside sovereign territories. That complexity adds operational difficulty to large-scale asset seizures.
As institutional banks seek regulated control of custody and settlement, enforcement agencies continue dismantling criminal infrastructure that exploits both victims and coerced workers.
Morgan Stanley has applied for an OCC national trust charter to establish Morgan Stanley Digital Trust and bring crypto custody, staking, and trading in-house. The move aligns with planned Bitcoin ETF filings and direct spot trading. The shift signals deeper institutional integration of digital asset infrastructure.