According to Amy Oldenburg, Morgan Stanley's head of digital asset strategy, the inclusion of bitcoin on US bank balance sheets is a likely future development, albeit one that faces significant obstacles. Oldenburg, speaking at the Bitcoin Conference in Las Vegas, outlined the groundwork being laid by Morgan Stanley for expanding its digital asset business in response to growing client demand. While acknowledging the progress made in the regulatory environment, Oldenburg highlighted the need for further support, citing the Federal Reserve, Basel rules, and the requirement for coordination among multiple global regulators as key barriers.
Despite these challenges, Morgan Stanley has made strides in the digital asset space, including the launch of MSBT, a bitcoin-backed exchange-traded product that drew over $100 million in its first six days of trading, with inflows coming entirely from self-directed clients. This demonstrates a significant demand for such products, which is not yet being fully met by advisors due to an education gap.
To address this, Morgan Stanley has initiated internal training programs and is pursuing an OCC digital trust charter to enable direct crypto custody and spot crypto trading on its wealth platform.