Morgan Stanley plans to offer crypto trading to clients
Morgan Stanley to launch crypto trading on E*Trade by 2026.
Morgan Stanley is preparing to introduce cryptocurrency trading on its E*Trade platform, signaling a significant expansion into digital assets as the Trump administration dismantles longstanding regulatory hurdles.
The project, still in early development, could launch as soon as 2026, according to sources familiar with the matter, reports Bloomberg.
Executives at the Wall Street giant are evaluating partnerships with established crypto firms to enable E*Trade clients to buy and sell leading tokens such as Bitcoin and Ethereum. The planned rollout would make Morgan Stanley the most prominent US bank to directly facilitate retail crypto trading, intensifying competition with fintech players like Robinhood and Coinbase.
Trump’s policy pivot unlocks institutional interest
Morgan Stanley’s move is emblematic of a broader industry realignment as U.S. policy under President Trump becomes more accommodating to digital assets. Within days of returning to office, Trump issued an executive order promoting American leadership in financial innovation and ordered regulators to dismantle previous crypto-related restrictions.
Soon after, the Securities and Exchange Commission repealed controversial accounting guidance that had discouraged crypto partnerships with banks. Last week, the Federal Reserve and the FDIC rescinded 2023 risk alerts tied to crypto exposure — a decision that drew praise from the Bank Policy Institute, which said it empowers banks to safely innovate.
The rapid reversal of earlier Biden-era stances has fueled a rush by traditional financial institutions to explore new offerings in the sector. Inside Morgan Stanley, discussions around direct crypto services accelerated in late 2024, according to insiders, particularly after seeing robust interest in crypto ETFs and futures among its high-net-worth clients.
Retail crypto push redefines competitive landscape
While Morgan Stanley’s wealthier clients already access crypto indirectly through ETFs and futures, the addition of spot crypto trading via E*Trade would represent a major leap into mass-market financial services.
The decision is likely to increase pressure on incumbents like Robinhood, which generated $626 million — 21% of its 2023 net revenue — from crypto trading. Coinbase, the largest US crypto exchange, would also face stiffer competition from a traditional finance heavyweight with a massive brokerage user base and regulatory footprint.
Morgan Stanley’s former CEO James Gorman was one of the earliest Wall Street leaders to acknowledge crypto’s potential, stating in 2017 that Bitcoin was “more than just a fad.” The bank’s renewed expansion now puts that thesis into motion.
Banks warm to crypto after decade of hesitation
Large US banks have long treated crypto with caution due to volatility, security concerns, and regulatory gray areas. JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon, a vocal critic of Bitcoin, once labeled it a “fraud” but has since softened his tone, even as JPMorgan develops its own blockchain-based systems.
BNY Mellon, another outlier among major institutions, received regulatory non-objection to provide digital asset custody services last year. SEC Chair Gary Gensler, who led the agency under President Biden, had credited the bank for conducting extensive compliance groundwork.
If successful, Morgan Stanley’s crypto expansion could help normalize digital asset access across traditional finance — a critical shift as the Trump administration continues reshaping the regulatory landscape. With crypto sentiment strengthening and institutional involvement deepening, the market appears poised for its next phase of mainstream adoption.
Recently we wrote that with Bitcoin hovering around the $95,000 mark, analytics platform CryptoQuant has released a new forecast outlining three potential price scenarios for the cryptocurrency over the next six months.
