Morgan Stanley Expands Digital Asset Offerings Beyond Bitcoin
Morgan Stanley, one of the largest banks in the US, is expanding its digital asset offerings after launching its spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) last week. The bank's head of digital-asset strategy, Amy Oldenburg, said that the launch was just a starting point and not the final destination for their product lineup.
The ETF pulled in $46 million in net inflows during its first days of trading, according to Farside Investors. Morgan Stanley has also filed applications for ETFs tied to Ethereum and Solana, further expanding its digital asset offerings beyond Bitcoin.
Oldenburg identified tokenized money-market funds as a 'path forward' for the firm's product roadmap. These funds issue yield-bearing tokens backed by short-term government securities, a model pioneered by Franklin Templeton in 2021 but now led by BlackRock's BUIDL product with $2.3 billion in assets.
Morgan Stanley subsidiary Parametric manages rules-based investment strategies, including tax-loss harvesting for traditional portfolios. Oldenburg said applying this approach to digital assets is 'something to also explore.'