Morgan Stanley Applies for National Trust Charter to Custody Digital Assets

Morgan Stanley filed with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency on Feb. 18 for a de novo national trust charter under the name "Morgan Stanley Digital Trust, National Association" to provide custody of digital assets and support related trading, transfers and staking services for clients, public documents show. The bank's plan outlines fiduciary and safekeeping functions similar to traditional trust operations, focusing on crypto activities tied to assets such as Bitcoin, Solana and staked Ether within a regulated framework. The application follows a broader OCC-driven wave of crypto-related national trust bank charters, including conditional approvals for First National Digital Currency Bank, Ripple, BitGo, Fidelity Digital Assets and Paxos, as well as developments involving Bridge and Crypto.com in the U.S. The move aligns with Morgan Stanley's ongoing expansion in digital assets, including appointing Amy Oldenburg to lead its digital asset unit, growing crypto-focused hiring and pursuing exchange-traded funds linked to BTC, SOL and a staked Ether strategy.