TLDR
- Morgan Stanley has launched a spot cryptocurrency trading pilot on its E*Trade retail brokerage platform.
- The bank is charging clients 50 basis points on the dollar value of each crypto transaction.
- The pilot is currently live and Morgan Stanley plans to extend access to all 8.6 million E*Trade clients later this year.
- Jed Finn said the initiative is part of a broader strategy and described it as disintermediating the disintermediators.
- Bloomberg reported that the new fee is lower than Charles Schwab’s 75-basis-point fee for similar services.
Morgan Stanley has launched spot cryptocurrency trading on its ETrade retail brokerage platform, according to Bloomberg. The bank charges 50 basis points per transaction and has started a live pilot. It plans to extend access to all 8.6 million ETrade clients later this year.
Morgan Stanley Expands Crypto Access Through E*Trade Pilot
Morgan Stanley rolled out spot cryptocurrency trading for select E*Trade clients as part of a pilot program. The bank charges a 50-basis-point fee on each crypto transaction. Bloomberg reported that the pilot is active and broader access will follow this year.
The bank manages the sixth-largest U.S. assets by assets under management. Jed Finn, head of wealth management, outlined the broader strategy behind the move.
He said, “This is much bigger than trading crypto at a cheaper rate,” and called it “disintermediating the disintermediators.”
Bloomberg senior ETF analyst Eric Balchunas compared the new fee with competitors. He said Charles Schwab charges 75 basis points for similar services. He added that Schwab “likely won’t let this stand,” in a post on X.
Balchunas also pointed to lower-cost alternatives in the market. He said Bitcoin ETFs can trade at around 2 basis points.
He also wrote, “I still think ETFs are the way bigger cash magnet at least for now.”
Bitcoin Initiatives and Stablecoin Fund Broaden Digital Asset Push
Morgan Stanley had largely stayed away from crypto until October. At that time, it said it would cap crypto allocations at up to 4% in aggressive portfolios. That move aligned the bank with asset managers such as BlackRock and Fidelity.
Weeks before the E*Trade pilot, the bank launched a spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund called MSBT. The fund gathered $103 million in net inflows within its first six trading days. It has since accumulated more than $205 million in assets under management, according to The Block.
Bloomberg also reported further digital asset plans. Morgan Stanley plans to let clients convert cryptocurrency into shares of exchange-traded products without selling holdings. The bank also intends to enable tokenized equities trading for institutional clients in the second half of the year.
Meanwhile, the investment unit launched a stablecoin reserves fund last month. The fund follows GENIUS Act requirements and maintains a stable $1 net asset value. It invests in cash and U.S. Treasury instruments with maturities of 93 days or less.
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