Morgan Stanley has confirmed plans to expand its digital asset offerings significantly, including Bitcoin custody, trading, yield, and lending services for its clients.
This announcement comes from Amy Oldenburg, the bank’s Head of Digital Asset Strategy, who spoke at the Bitcoin for Corporations conference (also referred to as Strategy World) in Las Vegas.
She stated that the firm “absolutely” intends to provide these services, with the bank building its own in-house technology infrastructure rather than relying on third-party solutions to ensure reliability, control, and alignment with client expectations.
Morgan Stanley is developing a native custody and exchange platform for Bitcoin and potentially other digital assets. This would allow clients to hold legal custody of their Bitcoin under the bank’s oversight. The firm noted that many clients currently hold crypto off-platform and aims to bring those assets in-house.
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An initial phase may build on existing spot trading access via the E*Trade app which already supports Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana in some capacity. These are under active exploration and discussion as natural next steps.
The bank is looking at products that could generate yield on crypto holdings or enable lending against them, drawing from trends in decentralized finance (DeFi) and traditional finance. Oldenburg expressed strong support for including these, though no specific timelines were provided beyond the custody and trading rollout expected over the coming year or so.
Morgan Stanley manages nearly $9 trillion in client assets. A significant portion of client crypto remains outside the platform, and these new services aim to capture that by offering a trusted, regulated one-stop solution. This reflects growing institutional demand, especially post-Bitcoin ETF approvals and broader mainstream adoption.
This move signals deeper integration of Bitcoin into traditional finance, with other major banks like Citigroup also advancing similar infrastructure. It’s part of a broader trend where Wall Street institutions are building full-stack crypto capabilities to meet client needs for secure, accessible exposure.
Morgan Stanley’s plans for Bitcoin yield and lending services remain in the exploratory and discussion phase, with no concrete product details, timelines, rates, or specific structures announced yet. These features are positioned as logical extensions following the rollout of core custody and trading infrastructure.
Oldenburg addressed yield and lending directly: When asked if the bank would offer Bitcoin-based yield and lending services, she responded affirmatively: “Absolutely… That’s part of the discussion and exploration. It’s a natural part of the roadmap to continue to explore.”
She described the firm as being in the “very early stages” or “early journey,” noting they are tracking momentum in decentralized finance (DeFi) lending and other crypto products. Oldenburg emphasized that these would build on in-house custody and trading capabilities, allowing clients to generate returns on holdings or borrow against them in a regulated, institutional-grade environment.
Yield products could involve earning interest or returns on Bitcoin holdings through staking-like mechanisms, if applicable to Bitcoin via wrapped or protocol integrations, or other yield-generating strategies inspired by DeFi. This would appeal to clients seeking passive income on idle crypto assets, similar to traditional securities lending or money market yields.
Lending services would likely enable clients to borrow fiat or other assets against Bitcoin collateral (over-collateralized loans) or lend Bitcoin to earn interest. This mirrors crypto lending platforms but with Morgan Stanley’s emphasis on reliability, compliance, and “no-fail” infrastructure for high-net-worth and institutional clients.
These would help bring off-platform crypto assets in-house, creating a full-stack solution and recurring revenue opportunities. Yield and lending are expected to follow the launch of native custody and trading; anticipated over the next year or so, potentially late 2026 onward.
Initial spot trading for Bitcoin and others like Ethereum and Solana is already expanding via the E*Trade app; partnered with third parties like Zero Hash, serving as a stepping stone. No exact launch dates, APYs, loan-to-value ratios, or regulatory approvals have been disclosed. The bank is prioritizing building proprietary tech to ensure control and meet client standards.
This reflects broader Wall Street trends toward integrating Bitcoin as a core asset class, with lending ans yield expanding utility beyond mere holding. The announcement has been viewed positively in crypto circles as a sign of deepening institutional adoption, though details will likely emerge gradually as infrastructure matures.