Morgan Stanley has postponed the launch of tokenized stock trading through its alternative trading system until the first quarter of 2027.
The bank had previously targeted the second half of 2026. The U.S. investment bank continues to develop the infrastructure required to handle blockchain-based securities.
According to Amy Oldenburg, head of digital asset strategy at Morgan Stanley, the delay is due to limited availability of suitable products and still insufficient institutional demand. Speaking at the TOKEN2049 conference in Singapore, she described the first quarter of 2027 as a more realistic timeline than the schedule she announced in March. The plan involves adding support for tokenized securities to the existing Trajectory Cross alternative trading system, rather than launching a separate crypto exchange.
Trajectory Cross already handles traditional stocks, ETFs, and American depositary receipts. The bank intends to expand it to selected tokenized U.S. equities and ETFs. Oldenburg stressed that suitable products must first be available before full trading support can be provided through the ATS.
“We need the products in order to be able to support them within the ATS,” she said.
Morgan Stanley is building its own digital wallet infrastructure for clients and testing blockchain solutions through its Digital Asset Lab. The bank is closely monitoring activity among custodians, trading venues, regulators, and other financial institutions, but has not disclosed specific technical challenges or additional costs related to the revised timeline.
The bank’s preparations coincide with the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation’s (DTCC) planned launch of a tokenization service in October 2026. More than 50 companies are participating in the industry working group supporting the infrastructure. In July, DTCC completed production testing of tokenized securities, including U.S. Treasuries and equities, involving around 40 organizations. The service will allow securities held at the Depository Trust Company to be represented as blockchain-based records.
Oldenburg had previously estimated that the market for tokenized real-world assets could reach $3–10 trillion by 2030.
