During the Bitcoin 2026 Conference in Las Vegas, Morgan Stanley’s head of digital asset strategy, Amy Oldenburg, shared insights on the possibility of US banks holding Bitcoin directly on their balance sheets. She noted that while such a scenario is not imminent, regulatory advancements over the past 16 months have made it more conceivable. Oldenburg emphasized that if this progress continues, direct Bitcoin holdings by banks could become a reality in the future.
However, she highlighted two major hurdles that must be overcome. First, the Basel Committee needs to revise its current 1,250% risk-weighting for Bitcoin, which makes such exposure economically unfeasible under existing rules. Second, the Federal Reserve must issue clear guidance for examiners regarding Bitcoin exposure. Encouragingly, the Basel Committee announced in February 2026 that it has expedited a targeted review of its crypto standards.
Meanwhile, Morgan Stanley has made significant strides in the crypto space. On April 8, the bank launched MSBT, the first spot Bitcoin ETF issued by a major US commercial bank, with Coinbase Custody and BNY Mellon as custodians. Within its first eight days, MSBT attracted $103 million in net inflows, primarily through self-directed channels without any advisor involvement. This underscores a gap in advisor education that the bank is now addressing through internal training.
Furthermore, Morgan Stanley is actively pursuing an OCC digital trust charter to enable direct crypto custody and spot trading. It has also filed for Ethereum and Solana trusts, with plans to introduce retail crypto trading on E*Trade in the first half of 2026. Despite these initiatives, the bank currently recommends a modest 2% to 4% Bitcoin allocation for certain clients, reflecting a cautious yet forward-looking approach.