A senior executive at Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) outlined the bank’s plans to launch a Bitcoin and digital assets custody and exchange platform during a fireside chat at the Strategy World 2026 conference in Las Vegas.
Speaking to Phong Le, President and CEO of Bitcoin treasury giant Strategy (NASDAQ: MSTR), Morgan Stanley’s Head of Digital Asset Strategy, Amy Oldenburg, outlined the bank’s current initiatives and longer-term roadmap for the crypto industry.
Morgan Stanley to Launch Direct Spot Bitcoin and Crypto Trading on E-Trade Platform
Oldenburg highlighted that Morgan Stanley will soon allow customers to buy and sell cryptocurrencies on the spot market through its E-Trade platform. Last year, the bank said it was pursuing a potential spot Bitcoin ETF with direct trading via E-Trade. However, the bank intends to develop and launch a fully integrated crypto custody and exchange in 2027.
“This is a natural progression. We can’t just primarily rent the technology to do this. People expect Morgan Stanley, they trust our brand, to be no fail,” the executive said.
The proposed platform would give Morgan Stanley clients legal custody of their digital assets under its oversight. The firm acknowledges that some clients, particularly those invested in BTC, would prefer to self-custody their holdings.
Having been at Morgan Stanley for more than 25 years, including 13 years running its emerging-market investing business, Oldenburg observed early adoption of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies across 17 of the top 20 global markets. She suggested that the bank aims to provide “comprehensive services” to its clients as the digital assets space “continues to institutionalize.”
Morgan Stanley Digital Assets Exec Says Bank is Exploring Crypto Yield and Lending Products
In addition to custody and trading services, the bank is also exploring potential yield and lending products tied to clients’ crypto holdings. Oldenburg called it a “natural part of the roadmap to continue to explore” the industry, noting Morgan Stanley is still in the early stages of the project, but is actively monitoring developments in decentralized finance (DeFi) and other digital asset products.
Morgan Stanley oversees approximately $8 trillion in assets on its platforms, and a significant portion of its clients already hold crypto assets outside of its services. By bringing those assets onto its banking platform, it could offer custody, trading, and potential yield or lending services.
Though the bank has not specified a timeline for the launch of the forthcoming digital asset products, it indicated they would follow the rollout of the crypto custody and exchange platform.
JPMorgan Analysts Expect Strong Crypto Performance Once the CLARITY Act Passes
Meanwhile, analysts at JPMorgan Chase have linked a strong performance for the crypto market to progress made on the CLARITY Act market structure bill in the United States. The bank’s view centers around the idea that clearer rules could improve market participation and lift negative sentiment after a weak start to 2026.
This outlook aligns with ongoing discussions between crypto firms, the banking lobby, and White House officials over the market structure rules. A key area of concern remains whether stablecoin issuers can offer customers yields on their holdings, which the banks argue would result in a deposit flight, destabilizing the U.S. banking system.
Following the third round of meetings, both sides have agreed to make concessions over yields, with the Trump administration supporting certain rewards for payment stablecoins qualified under the GENIUS Act.
At the time of writing, Bitcoin (BTC) is trading at $66,222 – down 3.08% in 24 hours.
