Morgan Stanley has submitted an application for a de novo national trust bank charter, a step that would allow it to safeguard digital assets on behalf of clients — aligning with its broader push into the cryptocurrency space.
A public filing with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) indicates that the application was received on Feb. 18 under the name “Morgan Stanley Digital Trust, National Association.”
According to reports from Bloomberg and Forbes, additional details released Friday show that the subsidiary plans to provide custody services for select digital assets, as well as facilitate purchases, sales, swaps, transfers, and crypto staking to support client investment activities.
A national bank trust charter allows a financial institution to carry out fiduciary functions, including trust administration, custody services, and asset safekeeping. The term “de novo,” derived from Latin, means “anew,” indicating that the entity is newly formed rather than acquired.
This marks Morgan Stanley’s first trust charter application specifically centered on cryptocurrency and comes amid a broader wave of new filings in 2025. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) currently supervises around 60 national trust banks across the United States.
Rush for crypto bank charters
In December, the OCC granted conditional approval to five crypto-focused national trust bank applications, including those from First National Digital Currency Bank, Ripple, BitGo, Fidelity Digital Assets, and Paxos.
Earlier this month, stablecoin platform Bridge — owned by payments giant Stripe — announced it had received conditional approval for a national trust bank. It was soon followed by Crypto.com. Shortly after, global financial services provider Payoneer revealed it had filed for its own national trust bank charter in the US, a move that could pave the way for issuing a stablecoin and offering additional crypto-related services.
Morgan Stanley doubles down on crypto
Morgan Stanley has intensified its crypto strategy in recent months. In January, the Wall Street firm appointed equity markets executive Amy Oldenburg to lead its newly formed digital assets division.
LinkedIn job postings suggest the $2 trillion investment bank is further expanding its crypto team, with openings for roles such as digital assets strategy director, digital assets strategist, and digital assets product lead.
The firm also filed in January to launch spot Bitcoin and Solana exchange-traded funds, followed by a proposal for a staked Ether ETF, signaling a broader push into digital asset investment products.
