Morgan Stanley executives believe the traditional 9-to-5 banking day is ending, with markets moving towards 24/7 trading and settlement. They anticipate tokenized assets will introduce mainstream investors to blockchain technology, driving the firm's expansion of digital asset offerings, including new Bitcoin, Ether, and Solana ETFs.
The shift away from traditional banking hours and the embrace of tokenization by major financial institutions like Morgan Stanley signal a fundamental transformation in financial infrastructure, potentially increasing accessibility, efficiency, and global participation in markets.
Morgan Stanley executives have declared the traditional 9-to-5 banking day obsolete, citing a significant industry shift towards 24/7 trading and settlement, accelerated by the rise of tokenized assets. Betsy Graseck, global head of banks and diversified finance research at Morgan Stanley, stated that the move to tokenized assets is about rebuilding financial infrastructure for an 'always-on' economy, marking the end of 'batch processing mentality' and traditional banker hours.
The financial industry is increasingly investing in technology that enables round-the-clock asset movement, a concept demonstrated by cryptocurrencies but now being applied to traditional assets. Morgan Stanley has been actively expanding its digital asset services, recently enabling spot trading for Bitcoin, Ether, and Solana on its E*TRADE platform. The firm also launched its first spot Bitcoin ETF earlier this year, followed by Ether and Solana ETFs, responding to investor demand for digital asset products.
According to Graseck, institutional investors are increasingly interested in tokenization for its potential to improve cash mobility, enhance collateral efficiency, and create new investment opportunities. She warned that firms failing to modernize their infrastructure risk falling behind as financial activity migrates to blockchain-based systems.
Denny Galindo, an investment strategist at Morgan Stanley Wealth Management, predicted that tokenized money market funds and stocks, which have expanded rapidly, will serve as many investors' first introduction to blockchain technology before they directly purchase cryptocurrencies. He believes these tokenized products will offer access to assets previously difficult to obtain.
Ali Wallace, global head of capital markets and ETF strategy at Morgan Stanley Investment Management, noted that product development is evolving, with growing interest in multi-currency, multi-product digital asset ETFs as the next innovation.
While Graseck anticipates this transition will take years, she affirmed the clear direction towards investors managing funds on a 24/7 basis, acknowledging that the investor base is global.