Morgan Stanley Delays Tokenized Stock Trading to Q1 2027
RWA Signal Insight
InfrastructureMorgan Stanley has confirmed its participation as an early adopter of the DTCC Tokenization Service, which facilitates the conversion of DTC-custodied U.S. equities and Treasuries into digital tokens. This integration allows the bank to gain practical experience in bridging traditional market infrastructure with tokenized securities. Despite this progress, the bank has officially delayed the launch of its proprietary tokenized-equity trading capabilities on the Trajectory Cross alternative trading system from late 2026 to the first quarter of 2027. Amy Oldenburg, head of digital assets strategy at Morgan Stanley, emphasized that this hands-on integration is critical for shaping the bank's future digital asset roadmap. Furthermore, the bank is actively developing proprietary wallet infrastructure to support the custody and management of these tokenized holdings. These developments underscore the broader institutional commitment to digital transformation, with Morgan Stanley projecting the total tokenized-asset market to reach between $3 trillion and $10 trillion by 2030. The shift in the internal timeline reflects the complexities of aligning institutional-grade trading systems with emerging blockchain-based settlement frameworks.
Key points
- Morgan Stanley is an early adopter of the DTCC Tokenization Service for U.S. assets.
- Trajectory Cross ATS tokenized-equity trading launch delayed from late 2026 to Q1 2027.
- Bank is building proprietary wallet infrastructure for managing tokenized security holdings.
- Morgan Stanley forecasts the global tokenized-asset market will reach $3T to $10T by 2030.
Background
The DTCC Tokenization Service is an industry-wide initiative designed to provide a standardized framework for tokenizing assets held within the Depository Trust Company. It aims to improve settlement efficiency and liquidity by enabling traditional securities to be represented as tokens on distributed ledger technology. Trajectory Cross is Morgan Stanley's proprietary alternative trading system (ATS) designed to facilitate institutional-grade trading of digital assets.