Morgan Stanley Enlists Coinbase and BNY for Bitcoin ETF Custody
Morgan Stanley taps Coinbase and BNY for custody in proposed Bitcoin ETF
Morgan Stanley has named Coinbase and Bank of New York Mellon (BNY) as custody partners in a proposed Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF), according to the information provided.
In practical terms, a custody arrangement outlines how the ETF’s underlying assets would be safeguarded. For a spot Bitcoin ETF, that typically means securing the fund’s bitcoin holdings, maintaining controls around access and storage, and supporting operational processes tied to creations and redemptions.
The selection of two well-known providers underscores how custody has become a central part of the infrastructure behind crypto-linked investment products. Coinbase is a major U.S. crypto platform with an established institutional custody business, while BNY is one of the world’s largest custody banks and a long-standing provider of asset servicing for traditional markets.
More broadly, the move highlights the way proposed Bitcoin ETFs are being built using a mix of crypto-native and traditional financial institutions. For asset managers and their partners, custody choices are closely watched because they affect operational resilience, risk management, and how easily the product can integrate into existing market plumbing.
