Morgan Stanley says tokenization is ending traditional banker hours

Morgan Stanley executives said tokenization is pushing finance toward 24/7 markets, real-time settlement and constant access to capital, marking a broader shift away from fixed banking schedules. Speaking on a digital assets panel hosted by CoinDesk, Betsy Graseck, Morgan Stanley's global head of banking and diversified financials research, said the transition is about rebuilding financial infrastructure for an always-on economy rather than focusing only on crypto assets, adding that batch processing will become obsolete as fund flows move onto digital asset rails. Graseck said tokenized assets can help institutions improve cash mobility, raise collateral efficiency and open new investment opportunities. She warned that firms that fail to modernize their systems for digital assets risk losing growth as more financial activity moves onto blockchain-based systems, and said investor demand is increasingly global rather than limited to domestic market hours. Banks, exchanges and custodians are investing in technology that allows assets to move 24 hours a day rather than only during business hours, she said, adding that institutional investors are broadening their focus beyond cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin toward tokenized assets. The remarks come as Morgan Stanley broadens its own digital asset push. The firm recently began offering spot trading in Bitcoin, Ethereum and Solana through E*TRADE, expanded access to crypto ETFs for wealth management clients, and launched its first spot Bitcoin ETF earlier this year. It followed that this week with spot Ethereum and Solana ETFs. Morgan Stanley Wealth Management investment strategist Denny Galindo said tokenized money market funds and equities have grown rapidly this year and predicted they could become many investors' first exposure to blockchain technology before they buy crypto assets. Ali Wallace, global head of capital markets and ETF strategy at Morgan Stanley Investment Management, said investor demand is also driving interest in multi-currency, multi-product ETFs as a next stage for digital asset products.