Barclays, Morgan Stanley and SoFi Advance Regulated Crypto Infrastructure With Stablecoins, Custody Charters and Direct Solana Access

Major Banks Move From Crypto Exploration to Formal Integration Across Stablecoins, Custody and On-Chain Banking Services

TL;DR

• Barclays began vendor consultations on February 27, 2026 for a blockchain platform supporting stablecoins and tokenized deposits as stablecoin market capitalization nears $310 billion.
• Morgan Stanley filed for a de novo national trust bank charter on February 18, 2026 to custody digital assets, offer trading and enable staking under a proposed Digital Trust entity.
• SoFi enabled direct Solana deposits for more than 13.7 million customers and operates with over $50 billion in assets while expanding stablecoin and crypto trading services.

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Barclays on February 27, 2026 reportedly launched a formal consultation process with technology vendors to build a blockchain-based platform designed to support payments, fiat-pegged stablecoins and tokenized bank deposits within its core banking settlement infrastructure. The bank issued a request for information to providers capable of delivering regulated blockchain settlement systems that would underpin payment rails anchored on digital assets and on-chain representations of traditional deposits. The combined market capitalization of stablecoins is approaching about $310 billion, a figure cited as part of the broader digital asset landscape.

Selection of technology providers is expected by April 2026, marking the next stage in Barclays’ integration effort. The consultation follows the bank’s first strategic investment into U.S.-based settlement startup Ubyx Inc., which is developing a clearing and reconciliation system for regulated stablecoins and tokenized deposits issued by multiple entities to operate on a shared settlement layer. Financial terms of the investment were not disclosed.

Barclays’ Head of Digital Assets said “interoperability is essential to unlock the full potential of digital assets,” according to industry coverage describing the investment. The bank is also participating in international working groups exploring one-to-one reserve-backed digital currency issuance on public blockchains as part of broader infrastructure initiatives. Internal discussions described the Ubyx investment as focused on advancing connectivity between regulated banks and on-chain ecosystems.

Morgan Stanley was reported to have filed for a de novo national trust bank charter with the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. The filing, dated February 18, 2026, outlines plans to establish Morgan Stanley Digital Trust National Association, headquartered in Purchase, New York, to provide custody for digital assets and facilitate trading and staking services for clients nationwide.

The application describes the proposed entity’s mission as providing a “comprehensive array of financial services and solutions,” including custody, purchase, sale, swap and transfer of digital assets, as well as facilitating customer staking on a fiduciary basis. The move advances the bank’s digital asset strategy beyond earlier third-party integrations toward an internally regulated structure designed to directly host client assets.

Morgan Stanley manages around $8 trillion in client assets, with coverage noting that significant crypto holdings currently reside outside its direct custody framework. Amy Oldenburg, Head of Digital Asset Strategy at Morgan Stanley, said the planned solution will provide legal custody of client digital assets under Morgan Stanley oversight, while acknowledging that some clients may continue to prefer self-custody. The bank has also explored potential yield generation and lending products tied to digital asset holdings, according to multiple reports.

Recent regulatory developments have seen the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency authorize several trust charters for digital asset firms, creating a framework under which traditional financial institutions may expand custody and related services within a supervised structure. Morgan Stanley’s filing places it among major banks seeking to formalize crypto custody through federally regulated entities.

SoFi enabled direct on-chain deposits of Solana tokens into customer accounts, becoming the first nationally chartered U.S. bank to provide that functionality. More than 13.7 million customers can transfer SOL directly from external wallets into their SoFi crypto accounts without using intermediary exchanges. The feature integrates Solana blockchain support directly into the SoFi mobile app interface.

Customers can buy, sell, hold, receive and manage SOL alongside checking and savings products within the same banking application. SoFi’s banking arm manages over $50 billion in assets. The Solana integration builds on earlier milestones, including becoming the first U.S. bank in November 2025 to offer integrated crypto trading services within an insured banking ecosystem covering Bitcoin, Ethereum and Solana.

December 2025 marked the launch of SoFiUSD, a fully reserved U.S. dollar stablecoin issued on a public permissionless blockchain. The product was described as supporting banks, fintechs and enterprise partners seeking around-the-clock settlement capabilities with near-instant speeds and fractional-cent transaction costs. The expansion of direct blockchain access, stablecoin issuance and crypto trading services places SoFi’s digital asset offerings within its existing national banking charter framework.

This article has been refined and enhanced by ChatGPT.