Catenaa, Friday, January 24, 2025 – Morgan Stanley, managing $1.6 trillion in assets, is evaluating how to safely operate as a transactor in the cryptocurrency market, CEO Ted Pick announced Thursday at the World Economic Forum at Davos, Switzerland.
Pick revealed ongoing discussions with the US Treasury and other regulators, emphasizing the challenges for a highly regulated institution to engage in crypto.
“For us, the equation is really around whether we, as a highly-regulated financial institution, can act as transactors,” Pick said in an interview with CNBC.
Under President Donald Trump’s pro-crypto administration, Morgan Stanley is assessing whether the industry has reached maturity as an asset class. Pick highlighted the growing liquidity in the market, with Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) as a prime example.
Since launching in early 2024, US spot Bitcoin ETFs have accumulated $39 billion, reflecting increased acceptance of digital assets. Pick described this as a key development influencing the bank’s approach to crypto adoption.
The utterance is seen as a sign of Morgan Stanley’s cautious but significant interest in integrating cryptocurrency offerings within traditional banking systems, marking another step toward the mainstream adoption of digital assets.
