Morgan Stanley Opens Crypto-to-ETP Pathway With Galaxy Digital

Lower minimums and faster onboarding

Galaxy Digital cut the minimum lending transaction size for Morgan Stanley-referred clients from $25 million to $5 million. The lower threshold expands access beyond the firm’s previous minimum, though the structure remains aimed at wealthy and institutional-scale investors.

Morgan Stanley refers eligible wealth-management clients to Galaxy Digital on an unsolicited basis for onboarding and execution. Morgan Stanley does not execute the transactions and does not receive referral compensation under the arrangement.

Once ETP shares are delivered into a client’s brokerage account, the shares have margin and lending functionality. That allows clients to use the shares as collateral inside a traditional portfolio while maintaining exposure through an exchange-traded product structure.

Alison Nest, Morgan Stanley Head of Investment Solutions Products, said, “Morgan Stanley has been investing in the DeFi space for some time, and we are proud to support a referral capability with Galaxy to provide Wealth Management clients with an institutionalized pathway that helps integrate digital assets into their portfolio.”

Nest also said, “This referral arrangement represents a significant step forward in bridging traditional finance and decentralized finance, providing more investors with streamlined opportunities to diversify.”

Zane Glauber, Global Head of Distribution at Galaxy, said the “lowered minimums and faster onboarding are designed to make it easier for clients to integrate digital assets alongside traditional investments.”

Morgan Stanley’s broader crypto push

Morgan Stanley’s relationship with Galaxy Digital dates back to 2021, when the bank first began offering wealthy clients Bitcoin exposure through Galaxy Digital funds.

Morgan Stanley has also been linked to filings for Bitcoin and Solana exchange-traded funds. The firm also applied for a de novo national trust bank charter from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to establish Morgan Stanley Digital Trust. The charter would allow the bank to provide direct custody services for digital assets.

The trust-bank application would move Morgan Stanley closer to a regulatory path also used by crypto-native custody firms such as Coinbase, Crypto.com and BitGo, which have sought or obtained similar approvals.

Morgan Stanley has started piloting spot crypto trading through an E-Trade tie-up. The firm also rolled out the Stablecoin Reserves Portfolio, known as MSNXX, a money market fund tied to regulated cash, reserves and settlement infrastructure.

Morgan Stanley’s recent crypto activity has been largely driven by Amy Oldenburg, a Morgan Stanley veteran who was tapped earlier this year to lead the firm’s first digital asset strategy role.

Morgan Stanley Bitcoin Trust launched on April 8, 2026, and completed its first month without recording a single day of net redemptions. The same information describes the product as the first crypto ETF to see zero net redemptions during its first month trading.

A separate account says the SEC had not yet granted approval for the Morgan Stanley Bitcoin Trust or Solana trust to begin trading. That creates an unresolved conflict over the approval and trading status of those products.

ETF flows remain under pressure

The referral arrangement comes as U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs have faced sustained outflows. U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs saw 13 consecutive days of outflows through Wednesday and lost about $4.4 billion since mid-May.

Total category assets fell from $104.29 billion to about $80.40 billion through early June 2026. The outflow streak ended Thursday when BlackRock and Morgan Stanley offset withdrawals and pushed the category to a $3.05 million net inflow.

Fidelity’s FBTC, Bitwise’s BITB and Ark’s ARKB continued to see outflows while BlackRock’s IBIT attracted inflows. Morgan Stanley joined BlackRock among the issuers recording positive flows during the broader withdrawal period.

Galaxy Digital reported $505 million in adjusted gross profit in 2025 from its trading, lending, asset management and staking services unit. The firm also rolled out an institutional over-the-counter prediction-market trading desk earlier in the same week.

The arrangement gives Morgan Stanley clients a route to turn crypto holdings into ETP shares that can be used inside conventional wealth-management workflows. Galaxy Digital receives access to a larger funnel of qualified high-net-worth clients through Morgan Stanley referrals.