Just weeks after announcing plans to launch three exchange-traded funds and a cryptocurrency portfolio, Morgan Stanley has hired veteran executive Amy Oldenburg to lead the investment bank’s modern crypto unit.
Oldenburg will assume the role of director of digital asset strategy after serving on Morgan Stanley’s emerging markets equities team since 2001, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday.
Oldenburg has led the emerging markets team since November 2021, where she was tasked with leading the division’s digital asset strategy.
Job postings on LinkedIn show that the $2 trillion investment bank is also looking to expand its cryptocurrency team, listing positions for director of digital asset strategy, digital asset strategist and digital asset product leader.
Morgan Stanley filed to launch Bitcoin (BTC) and Solana (SOL) spot funds in the first week of 2025 – its first major move in the crypto space after largely waiting out the first wave of institutional adoption over the past two years.
Later that week, Morgan Stanley filed to create an Ether ETF (ETH) that aims to hold ETH while allocating an undisclosed amount to earn staking income.
If approved, the funds could bring modern inflows into BTC, ETH and SOL from Morgan Stanley’s 19 million clients served through its wealth management division.
It also plans to launch a cryptocurrency wallet that would support cryptocurrencies and tokenized real-world assets, including stocks, bonds and real estate.
Oldenburg advocates independent custody of cryptocurrencies
In previous public appearances, Oldenburg has done this accented the importance of the concept of “Not your keys, not your coins” and the need to build better self-care infrastructure, especially for those in emerging markets. Last March, she also stated that she was “against ETFs” because they did not provide staking options at the time.
Related: A South Dakota lawmaker is once again challenging the Bitcoin Reserve Act
“I want to have liquidity 24/7, and we also have clients who want to transfer their assets and potentially deposit them with us, and also be able to leverage all the features that the digital asset space allows,” Oldenburg he said at the Digital Assets 2025 Summit.
Oldenburg was then referring to the limitations of ETFs related to cryptocurrency staking and profit-making products; however, the Securities and Exchange Commission under Paul Atkins has since shown openness to a wider range of crypto products.
Warehouse: One indicator shows that the cryptocurrency is currently in a bear market: Carl “The Moon”
