🔥BREAKING🔥
🧨 Morgan Stanley Bank requests US banking authorization to hold #cryptocurrencies.
👉Bank adoption continues despite the lack of response from the price of
$BTC and
#crypto. Morgan Stanley has officially applied for a national trust bank charter in the U.S. to directly custody digital assets, according to filings submitted to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) on February 18, 2026. The proposed subsidiary, named Morgan Stanley Digital Trust National Association, is designed to provide institutional-grade custody, trading, and staking services for clients across the United States.Key Insights into Morgan Stanley's Crypto Expansion
Direct Custody Strategy: The bank is pivoting toward an internally built "digital asset stack" rather than relying on third-party technology. This trust bank would allow them to bring client crypto holdings, currently held off-platform, directly under the bank's regulated umbrella.
Expanded Services: In addition to custody, the new entity intends to facilitate crypto-collateralized lending, yield products, and fiduciary staking for its investment clients.
2026 Product Roadmap:
ETFs: On January 6, 2026, the bank filed with the SEC to launch spot Bitcoin and Solana exchange-traded funds.
Retail Access: Morgan Stanley plans to enable spot trading for Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana via its E*Trade platform in the first half of 2026.
Proprietary Wallet: The firm aims to launch a proprietary digital wallet in the second half of 2026 to support tokenized assets and native holdings.
Institutional Adoption: This move places Morgan Stanley alongside competitors like Citigroup, which also plans to launch institutional Bitcoin custody in 2026, signaling a broader trend of major Wall Street firms integrating digital assets into traditional reporting and tax
$SAHARA $ROBO