Morgan Stanley Taps Coinbase Custody and BNY Mellon for Debut Bitcoin Trust

Morgan Stanley has appointed Coinbase Custody Trust Company as custodian and BNY Mellon as fund administrator for its first Bitcoin Trust, according to a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing. The trust will store Bitcoin primarily in offline cold storage vaults to mitigate hacking risks, with some BTC temporarily moved to active trading wallets during share creation or redemption, and insurance coverage shared among customers. BNY Mellon will also serve as transfer agent and cash custodian, while the passive fund will directly track Bitcoin prices without derivatives or leverage. Bitcoin rose more than 8% to around $72,128 following the disclosure.