BREAKING: Morgan Stanley Expands Deeper into Crypto with Digital Asset Lab Launch
Highlights
- Morgan Stanley has established a Digital Asset Lab to test stablecoins, tokenization and DeFi applications.
- Wall Street bank explores how blockchain-based use cases could extend to its business.
- Morgan Stanley is pushing deeper into crypto industry after launching spot Bitcoin ETF.
Morgan Stanley has set up a Digital Asset Lab to test blockchain technologies including stablecoins, tokenization, and decentralized finance (DeFi) applications. The Wall Street giant is moving deeper into the crypto industry, after launching crypto ETFs and trading on E*TRADE platform.
Morgan Stanley Launches Digital Asset Lab
Morgan Stanley has established a Digital Asset Lab to test crypto technologies such as stablecoins, tokenization and DeFi applications, Bloomberg reported on September 29. This comes as the Wall Street bank explores how blockchain-based use cases could extend to its business.
The move is part of Morgan Stanley’s existing network of innovation labs. It enables employees to explore emerging technologies without putting the bank’s core systems at risk.
Megan Brewer, who leads market innovation and labs at the firm, said in an interview that the firm will explore tokenized deposits, CBDCs, money-market funds and DeFi vaults that could automate investment strategies around the clock.
The Bank’s Expansion into Crypto
Morgan Stanley is pushing deeper into crypto, playing a key part in helping bring traditional finance onchain. The bank even allowed clients to trade Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana through its E*Trade platform.
It became the first bank to launch a spot Bitcoin ETF with Morgan Stanley Bitcoin Trust (MSBT) in April. The firm also gained approval for its Ethereum and Solana ETFs, charging a low fee of 0.14% and structured to pass staking rewards through to investors.
Morgan Stanley Investment Management launched the Stablecoin Reserves Portfolio (MSNXX) money market fund. Morgan Stanley is also exploring tokenization and DeFi as demand for crypto on Wall Street grows. Notably, the more capital that moves on-chain, the bigger the opportunity for the crypto industry.
Among these, Wall Street giant Morgan Stanley disclosed XRP crypto holdings through ETFs. It also increased holdings in Ripple-backed Evernorth Holdings’s SPAC partner Armada Acquisition Corp II. This indicates the bank’s interest in XRP and potential exploring XRP ETFs and trading in the future.
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