Morgan Stanley Wealth Management has entered a referral arrangement with Galaxy Digital, enabling eligible high-net-worth clients to lend Bitcoin, Ether, and Solana to Galaxy in exchange for shares in spot crypto exchange-traded products. The partnership allows investors to move crypto exposure into regulated investment vehicles—including the recently launched Morgan Stanley Bitcoin Trust—without first selling their digital assets for cash.
Galaxy has reduced its minimum lending transaction size for referred clients to $5 million from the standard $25 million, specifically to broaden access among Morgan Stanley's wealthy clientele. The structure is designed to cut in-kind crypto-to-ETP onboarding times by up to 75%, according to the announcement. Alison Nest, Head of Investment Solutions Products at Morgan Stanley, said the bank has been active in decentralized finance and views the referral capability as a way to “provide Wealth Management clients with an institutionalized pathway that helps integrate digital assets into their portfolio.” She added that the arrangement “represents a significant step forward in bridging traditional finance and decentralized finance.”
The move deepens Morgan Stanley's digital asset push. Earlier this year, the bank launched its spot Bitcoin ETF, which completed its first month without a single day of net redemptions. It also disclosed holdings in Volatility Shares XRP ETF and Grayscale XRP ETF, filed for a spot Solana Trust that would stake assets, and initiated a pilot crypto trading program on its E*Trade platform. For Galaxy, the deal adds a major institutional channel to its lending and asset management business, which generated $505 million in adjusted gross profit in 2025.
