NEW YORK — Amy Oldenburg, the top of digital asset technique at Morgan Stanley (MS), rejected the concept Wall Avenue is just now embracing crypto as a consequence of worry of lacking out, arguing that giant banks are performing after years of preparation.
“TradFi is getting FOMO and is now getting concerned … it actually isn’t correct,” Oldenburg stated throughout a panel on the Digital Asset Summit in New York on Tuesday. “We’ve been on a journey across the complete modernization of economic infrastructure for years.”
Her feedback come as main U.S. banks, lengthy seen as cautious on crypto or latecomers to the business, start to develop their choices. For years, corporations like Morgan Stanley restricted exercise to oblique publicity, resembling providing rich purchasers entry to bitcoin funds.
Extra just lately, that is included spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) on its E*Commerce platform and the financial institution this month even filed to launch its personal spot bitcoin ETF.
Broader participation was slowed by regulatory uncertainty and considerations round custody, compliance and market construction. That stance has began to shift, and Morgan Stanley has now outlined a extra outlined digital asset technique, with efforts spanning buying and selling, asset administration and infrastructure.
Oldenburg stated the financial institution is getting ready to assist tokenized equities buying and selling on its different buying and selling system.
“One of many issues that we’re planning for the second half of 2026 is popping on our trajectory cross … to assist tokenized equities later this yr,” she stated. The platform already handles equities, ETFs and American depositary receipts (ADRs), which she described as a pure base for enlargement.
Contained in the agency, the transition requires transforming core programs. “We’re having to re-teach ourselves what legacy infrastructure, pipes and plumbing appear like,” Oldenburg stated, pointing to the problem of upgrading decades-old monetary structure to assist quicker settlement and steady buying and selling.
She additionally highlighted a spot between crypto startups and huge establishments.
“There’s so many different connectivity factors that we have to plug in round it,” she stated, noting that founders usually underestimate how complicated financial institution programs are.
Even so, areas like stablecoins are gaining traction as a solution to transfer cash quicker and at decrease value than conventional programs.
Adoption, nevertheless, is determined by coordination throughout the monetary system. “We are able to’t simply modernize on our personal,” Oldenburg stated. “That is an extremely complicated, built-in international community.”
Regardless of weak token costs, she stated exercise continues to construct. “It actually could be very early innings,” Oldenburg stated, signaling that Wall Avenue’s deeper integration with crypto could also be gradual, however its underway.
