Morgan Stanley Seeks OCC Approval for Crypto Custody and Staking Services

Morgan Stanley's latest move in the digital asset space has brought it closer to offering custody and staking services. The bank has filed for a de novo national trust bank charter with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, seeking regulatory approval to handle crypto assets on behalf of clients. This new entity, named Morgan Stanley Digital Trust, National Association, will offer custody of certain digital assets and facilitate trading, sales, swaps, and transfers to support client investment activities.

The subsidiary will also provide staking services for its clients. A de novo charter means the entity is newly created rather than formed through an acquisition. Morgan Stanley's application comes after 14 other de novo bank charter applications were filed industry-wide in 2025. The OCC currently oversees approximately 60 national trust banks in the United States.

Morgan Stanley has accelerated its digital asset push across several fronts, including hiring equity markets executive Amy Oldenburg to lead a newly created crypto unit and filing to list spot Bitcoin and Solana ETFs. The bank later filed for a staked Ethereum ETF and has posted job listings on LinkedIn for positions including digital assets strategy director.