Morgan Stanley has filed for a de novo trust bank charter with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to enhance its crypto custody, trading, and staking services. The application, submitted on February 18 under the name Morgan Stanley Digital Trust, National Association, aims to allow the bank to hold digital assets under federal banking oversight. This move marks Morgan Stanley's first trust charter focused directly on cryptocurrency operations. The proposed trust bank would enable Morgan Stanley to offer custody, trading, and staking services for digital assets, supporting client portfolios and digital asset strategies. This expansion aligns with the bank's recent initiatives, including filings for spot Bitcoin and Solana ETFs and plans to launch a digital wallet. Morgan Stanley's application is part of a broader trend of increasing institutional interest in regulated crypto access, as evidenced by several recent OCC approvals for crypto-related charters.