Morgan Stanley Taps Digital Asset Lab to Explore Stablecoins and DeFi
Morgan Stanley has established a Digital Asset Lab to explore stablecoins and decentralized finance applications. The lab will examine tokenized deposits, digital currencies, money-market funds, and DeFi vaults.
The bank's existing products include E*TRADE crypto trading, which allows clients to buy, sell, and hold Bitcoin, Ether, and Solana through brokerage accounts. Morgan Stanley also offers exchange-traded products for investors seeking exposure to these assets.
The lab is part of Morgan Stanley's network of innovation labs and will allow employees to test blockchain applications without affecting the bank's core systems. Megan Brewer, who leads market innovation and labs at Morgan Stanley, said the work will cover tokenized deposits, central bank digital currencies, money-market funds, and DeFi vaults.
Morgan Stanley is also building custody infrastructure through its proposed Digital Trust bank, which is expected to take over the crypto service currently supported by Zerohash for E*TRADE. The lab's research may lead to new applications of tokenized deposits and digital currencies in investment strategies.