Morgan Stanley expects bitcoin to eventually land on U.S. bank balance sheets, though the path there remains long, according to Amy Oldenburg, the bank’s head of digital asset strategy.
Speaking at the Bitcoin Conference in Las Vegas, Oldenburg outlined how Morgan Stanley is building out its digital asset business as client demand accelerates.
She stated:
“It’s been many years that we’ve been involved in the broader digital asset space — the regulatory environment has been more supportive for us doing that.”
Balance sheet barriers
Oldenburg didn’t rule out Morgan Stanley eventually holding bitcoin on its own balance sheet, but pointed to several obstacles standing in the way — Federal Reserve guidance, Basel capital rules, and the need for sign-off from multiple global regulators.
This echoes a broader theme across Wall Street. BNY CEO Robin Vince said in March that large financial institutions will drive the next phase of crypto adoption, but only once regulatory clarity arrives.
MSBT’s strong debut
Morgan Stanley hasn’t been waiting around.
The bank recently launched MSBT, a bitcoin-backed exchange-traded product and the first of its kind issued by a U.S.-chartered bank.
The product pulled in more than $100 million in its first six days — and what made those inflows striking is that they came entirely from self-directed clients before the product was even available through financial advisors.
Oldenburg noted:
“All of that was self-directed, it was not even available in advisory on the wealth platform.”
The advisor education gap
Despite Morgan Stanley recommending a 2–4% bitcoin allocation to clients, advisor adoption has been slow.
Oldenburg attributed this to an education problem, noting that 80% of ETP exposure on the wealth platform is self-directed. The bank has since launched internal training programs to bring advisors up to speed.
The broader appetite for regulated bitcoin exposure is well established — BlackRock’s IBIT has amassed over $61 billion in assets, making it the fastest-growing ETF in history since launching in January 2024.
Morgan Stanley is also pursuing an OCC digital trust charter, which would allow the bank to custody crypto directly and offer spot crypto trading on its wealth platform.
MSBT currently uses Coinbase and BNY Mellon as dual custodians.
