Morgan Stanley Picks Coinbase, BNY Mellon as Custodians for Planned Bitcoin ETF
Morgan Stanley plans to custody Bitcoin for its proposed Morgan Stanley Bitcoin Trust through The Bank of New York Mellon and Coinbase Custody Trust Company, following a structure similar to other leading Bitcoin ETFs. Its updated S-1 registration, filed Wednesday, did not indicate approval for trading yet by the SEC. The firm filed for spot Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana ETFs in January but did not initially specify custodians. Amy Oldenburg, Morgan Stanley’s head of digital assets strategy, stated that the bank intends to expand its cryptocurrency services—including custody, trading, yield, and lending—by developing robust internal capabilities rather than relying solely on external technology partners. She emphasized the importance of reliability and maintaining client trust due to the bank's reputation. Oldenburg also noted that while Morgan Stanley clients have significant cryptocurrency holdings off-platform, the bank does not expect all client assets to migrate to its custody solutions.
