Morgan Stanley to acquire shareholder registry manager Vinyl Equity in preparation for tokenization business

Morgan Stanley has agreed to acquire Vinyl Equity, a shareholder-registry and transfer-agent platform, as the bank positions itself for growth in tokenized securities. The deal size was not disclosed. Vinyl Equity provides cap-table and shareholder-record management infrastructure, a function that becomes critical when equities are issued or tracked on-chain. The move signals that major Wall Street institutions expect tokenized equity markets to scale and want ownership of the registry layer rather than relying on third-party providers. Watch for further details on deal terms and how Morgan Stanley integrates Vinyl's registry technology with its existing blockchain and tokenization initiatives.