Cryptocurrency

How Morgan Stanley plans to bring crypto custody, staking and lending support in-house – Crypto News

Published

23 hours ago

July 16, 2026

Dripp

In June, Morgan Stanley received preliminary conditional approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to establish a national trust bank for digital assets.

The OCC decision opened a path for Morgan Stanley Digital Trust to bring custody, transaction administration, fiduciary staking, and collateral support inside the firm.

The proposed subsidiary would serve Morgan Stanley Wealth Management clients. Its public application presents it as a wholly owned national trust bank, giving the firm a regulated vehicle for functions that separate specialist providers have often handled.

The OCC’s application record classifies the filing as a new bank charter under a holding company with trust powers requested.

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The proposed services cover everything from safeguarding assets to running the day-to-day operations behind an institutional account. It covers custody, purchases, sales, swaps and transfers, fiduciary staking, and collateral administration supporting affiliate digital-asset lending.

With final approval and implementation, Morgan Stanley could retain customer assets, transaction administration, staking administration, and lending-collateral work within its group.

That shift puts crypto-native intermediaries under fresh pressure. Third-party custodians, staking administrators, and collateral-service providers face the clearest exposure where their products overlap with the trust bank’s approved functions.