Morgan Stanley created a new executive position called ‘Head of Digital Asset Strategy’ and appointed veteran employee Amy Oldenburg to lead it. Oldenburg will guide stablecoin integration, client education, portfolio recommendations (2-4% crypto allocation), and compliance with U.S. crypto policies.
The banks’ move aligns with the trend of big financial institutions taking strategic positions to gain a better foothold in the crypto world. The paradigm shift in U.S. policies towards crypto under Trump’s administration and the emerging regulatory clarity are likely to nudge more traditional financial institutions to treat crypto as a major asset class.
Morgan Stanley’s Crypto Moves: Crypto Trading on the ‘ETrade’ Platform in 2026
Morgan Stanley has continuously expressed its interest in the crypto world. Creating a dedicated post to handle digital assets is likely to be followed by complementary moves like launching Bitcoin ETFs and crypto trading in their own e-trading platform. The banks’ head of wealth management stated, “We are well underway in preparing to offer crypto trading through a partner model to ETrade clients in the first half of 2026.”
The firm’s crypto integration move is to be materialized by June 2026. Morgan Stanley’s ETrade platform will offer three major cryptocurrencies: Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and Solana (SOL).
Strategic Partnership With Zerohash
Zerohash is a leading digital asset infrastructure provider. Banks’ partnership with the firm will strengthen their crypto dreams further, as it will now be able to launch their crypto products without having to develop their own digital infrastructure. This partnership also means that Morgan Stanley’s ETrade platform will integrate traditional and digital asset management seamlessly from a single account. This unification and resulting convenience are likely to be major selling propositions for ‘ETrade.’
Other Banks Joining the Crypto Race
Recent legislation, verdicts, and U.S. administrations pro crypto policy have increasingly imparted confidence in digital assets. As a result, traditional financial institutions are moving swiftly to enter and expand into the crypto world. Apart from Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, UBS, and Citi have also made significant moves in this direction.
JPMorgan launched its first tokenized money-market fund (MONY) on Ethereum in December 2025. They have also launched spot crypto trading for institutions, where big clients can buy and sell Bitcoin and Ethereum or bet on price moves directly through JPM. Similarly, Goldman Sachs is also offering a digital assets trading desk for big clients.
The trend clearly indicates that these big banks are moving towards an ecosystem where all clients will be able to deal in digital assets as seamlessly as they handle traditional asset classes, using the current infrastructure.
Trump’s Pro-Crypto Policies Driving Change
The U.S. president has continually supported cryptocurrencies and plans to make America the “Crypto Capital” of the world. In January 2025, he reversed former President Joe Biden’s ban on retail CBDCs (Central Bank Digital Currencies). He has also made major moves to protect blockchain rights and formed the Presidential Working Group on Digital (PWG) Assets to unify the rules and regulations.
The GENIUS Act, which rendered clarity in stablecoin regulations, and the CLARITY Act, which seeks to categorize digital assets and split regulatory authority with the SEC and CFTC, are also significant changes that have made the U.S. legal landscape pro-crypto.
