Morgan Stanley Builds Native Bitcoin Trading Platform
Morgan Stanley will build its own Bitcoin custody and trading platform rather than relying on third-party infrastructure. The bank's digital asset strategy head Amy Oldenburg announced the move includes lending and yield products for institutional clients.
Key Takeaway
Wall Street's largest wealth managers are done renting crypto rails — they're building their own.
Morgan Stanley will build a native Bitcoin custody and trading platform over the next 12 months, moving beyond its current reliance on third-party partnerships.
Morgan Stanley Digital Asset Strategy Head Amy Oldenburg announced the plans at the Strategy World conference on February 25. The bank oversees ₱460.32 trillion ($8 trillion) in assets and has offered Bitcoin exposure since 2021, but currently routes trades through external providers. Oldenburg said clients expect Morgan Stanley's own infrastructure and spent 26 years at the firm before taking the digital asset role.
The platform will start with spot trading through E*Trade, Morgan Stanley's retail brokerage, after the bank partnered with Zerohash to support Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana trades. But Oldenburg said the firm can't keep renting technology from others indefinitely.
Morgan Stanley also plans to offer lending products backed by crypto holdings. Oldenburg told Strategy CEO Phong Le that yield and DeFi lending are a natural part of the roadmap, though the bank didn't set a launch date. She said the space is institutionalizing and Morgan Stanley aims to provide comprehensive services as client demand grows.
Bitcoin traded near ₱3,970,223 ($69,000) when Oldenburg spoke, up 8% on the day. Oldenburg noted that 17 of the top 20 global markets now show Bitcoin adoption among wealth clients. Bank of America and Morgan Stanley both recommend allocating up to 4% of portfolios to Bitcoin, while Harvard's endowment holds nearly ₱28.77 billion ($500 million) in the asset, reflecting how major institutions moved beyond Bitcoin's initial skepticism since March 2021.
This article was written based on reporting from Bitcoin Magazine.
