In a move that underscores the rapid institutionalization of digital assets, Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) has formally applied to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) for a de novo U.S. national trust bank charter.
The filing, submitted on February 18, seeks to establish a specialized entity named Morgan Stanley Digital Trust, National Association (MSDTNA), positioning the $2 trillion banking behemoth to provide federally regulated custody, fiduciary services, and asset management tailored for the crypto market.
Morgan Stanley Files National Bank Charter for Digital Asset Services
By securing this charter, Morgan Stanley can offer institutional clients a level of legal and regulatory certainty that has historically been lacking in the volatile digital asset sector, and marks one of the most significant entries by a Wall Street powerhouse into the space.
According to the non-confidential portions of the business plan published by the OCC on Friday, the wholly owned subsidiary of Morgan Stanley will custody certain digital assets, execute purchases, sales, swaps, and transfers to support client investment activities, and facilitate more complex services such as staking of digital assets. MSDTNA would also manage the technical process of validating on-chain transactions on behalf of its clients to earn block rewards.
Though Morgan Stanley already holds two full national bank charters, the latest application represents a much more calculated regulatory approach. Unlike a traditional full-service commercial bank, a national trust bank focuses on fiduciary activities and asset safeguarding rather than deposit-taking or commercial lending. This structure allows the bank to operate under the rigorous gold standard of federal oversight provided by the OCC – the agency that serves as the primary regulator of national banks.
The Wall Street titan is the largest wealth management firm in the United States, and according to its Q4 2025 report, total client assets in its Wealth and Investment Management division grew to $9.3 trillion. This was supported by over $350 billion in new net assets.
This is Morgan Stanley’s first trust charter with a specific focus on digital assets and follows 14 new national bank charter applications made in 2025. Currently, there are approximately 60 national trust banks supervised by the OCC.
OCC Grants Conditional Trust Charters to 8 Firms, Including Circle and Ripple
In December, the OCC issued five conditional approvals for crypto-related national trust bank charters to the Circle First National Digital Currency Bank, Ripple National Digital Currency Bank, BitGo, Fidelity Digital Assets, and Paxos Trust Company. Three additional approvals were made in February, including Stripe Bridge National Trust Bank, Crypto.com National Trust Bank, and Protego National Digital Trust Company. Meanwhile, Coinbase, Trump-linked World Liberty Financial, and Morgan Stanley are now awaiting a greenlight.
Morgan Stanley has accelerated its approach towards crypto assets in recent months. In January, the company tapped its equity markets executive, Amy Oldenburg, to lead its digital asset strategy. Job listings on LinkedIn show the investment bank is also looking to expand its crypto team, advertising openings for a digital assets strategy director, digital assets strategist, and digital assets product lead.
Its entry into the digital asset custody market places it in direct competition with both legacy financial institutions and crypto-native firms that have also sought federal legitimacy. Entities such as Fidelity Digital Assets and BNY have already established significant footprints in the custody space, while Anchorage Digital and BitGo became the first crypto-native firms to secure the OCC’s national trust charter.
Morgan Stanley Eyes 2027 Launch for Crypto Custody Platform
During her appearance at the Bitcoin for Corporations conference in Las Vegas on Thursday, Oldenburg said Morgan Stanley is gearing up to launch a crypto custody and exchange service that will allow customers to buy and sell Bitcoin and other digital assets on the spot market directly through its E-Trade platform. It is also exploring yield and lending products tied to crypto assets.
In a fireside chat with Strategy CEO Phong Le, she claimed that if there is a company that could “orange pill” the world about Bitcoin, it would be Morgan Stanley. On building custody and trading capabilities in-house rather than outsourcing, Oldenburg said:
“We need to build this out internally. We can’t just rent the technology to do this. People expect Morgan Stanley and trust our brand to be no fail.”
In January, the bank filed an S-1 application with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for a Morgan Stanley Bitcoin Trust ETF. It also made similar filings for exchange-traded funds tracking Solana (SOL) and Ether (ETH), with staking functionalities.
Morgan Stanley (MS) closed Friday’s trading session at $166.47 – down 6.21% on the day.
