Morgan Stanley Eyes Tokenized Money‑Market Funds, Crypto Tax Tools

Morgan Stanley, which manages $9.3 trillion in client assets, launched a spot Bitcoin ETF this week. The bank is evaluating tokenized money‑market funds and crypto tax‑loss harvesting through its Parametric unit, according to Amy Oldenburg, head of digital‑asset strategy.

Oldenburg called a tokenized money‑market fund “definitely a path forward” and noted the firm plans to study other tokenized versions of real‑world assets. Parametric runs rules‑based strategies, including tax‑loss harvesting, which could be adapted for crypto holdings to help clients offset capital gains.

The Bitcoin ETF carries a 0.14% expense ratio and has recorded modest early inflows. Morgan Stanley filed for ETFs tied to Ethereum and Solana in January. Last year the firm allowed more than 15,000 wealth advisors to recommend third‑party spot Bitcoin ETFs to eligible clients.

The bank confirmed plans to offer crypto trading through E*TRADE using Zerohash for infrastructure and is exploring Bitcoin‑based yield and lending services. Tokenized money‑market funds would issue blockchain tokens that represent shares in short‑term instruments such as U.S. Treasuries.

Similar tokenized yield products have appeared at other asset managers. One Treasury‑backed token launched in 2021. A more recent product has grown to roughly $2.3 billion, and another digital interest token holds about $172 million.

“We’re not going to stop at just Bitcoin,” Oldenburg added. “It’s really about the longer‑term journey, and there’s quite a long way to go.”