Morgan Stanley, one of Wall Street's largest banks, is expanding its presence in the cryptocurrency market through ETrade. The bank has launched a pilot cryptocurrency trading service on its online brokerage platform. According to Bloomberg, ETrade users will be charged a fee of 0.50% of the transaction amount. This rate indicates Morgan Stanley's entry into the retail crypto market with a highly competitive pricing strategy. Charles Schwab charges 75 basis points per transaction, while Fidelity Crypto charges 1% on buy and sell orders. Robinhood's fees range from 0.03% to 0.95% depending on transaction size, while Coinbase's fees for individual users can be higher for some transactions.
Morgan Stanley's pricing strategy doesn't just mean the launch of a new crypto service. The bank plans to include ETrade's 8.6 million customers in this service later in the year. This shows that traditional financial institutions are now more directly engaging in competition in the crypto market. E*Trade users will initially be able to buy and sell Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana. In this model, users will directly own crypto assets instead of taking indirect positions through ETFs or funds. However, direct ownership brings additional risks for the investor. Issues such as custody, security, and market volatility require more attention compared to traditional investment products.
Zerohash will provide the infrastructure
The crypto asset infrastructure company Zerohash is behind the service. The company will manage liquidity, custody, and clearing processes. Morgan Stanley's previous investment in Zerohash makes this collaboration noteworthy. Interactive Brokers led Zerohash's $104 million Series D-2 funding round. Funds led by Apollo, Northwestern Mutual Future Ventures, SoFi, and Jump Crypto also participated in the round. Morgan Stanley Asset Management President Jed Finn sees the crypto trading service as part of a larger transformation. Finn previously described this initiative as traditional finance's own answer to the next generation of platforms that cut out intermediaries. The bank's goal is not just to offer cheaper transactions; it aims to reshape how clients access digital assets within its own ecosystem.
The bank is preparing to further expand its crypto services. According to sources, Morgan Stanley is working on services where crypto assets can be converted into exchange-traded products without being sold. It is also preparing for tokenized stock trading later in the year. This area involves representing and trading traditional securities through blockchain infrastructure.
Morgan Stanley's digital asset plans don't stop there. The bank reportedly aims to launch its own digital wallet in the second half of 2026. This wallet is expected to be designed to hold not only cryptocurrencies but also tokenized versions of traditional assets such as stocks, bonds, and real estate.
The crypto race is accelerating on Wall Street
Morgan Stanley has recently been taking more visible steps in the crypto sector. The bank launched a spot Bitcoin ETF product and is also working on Ethereum and Solana-related products. It has also applied to the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to establish a federally authorized trust bank. The interest of traditional financial giants in crypto is also changing the direction of competition. Crypto-focused or fintech-based platforms like Coinbase and Robinhood have long held strong positions in the individual user market. However, with new products from institutions such as Morgan Stanley, Charles Schwab, Fidelity, and Goldman Sachs, this area is now becoming a major area of competition for Wall Street players as well.
