Morgan Stanley is expanding its digital assets business by launching cryptocurrency trading on its E*Trade platform, positioning the product as a low-cost alternative to existing retail crypto services.
According to Bloomberg, the bank is currently conducting a pilot to charge E*Trade users 50 basis points based on the value of the transaction. This is significantly lower than the costs of other major players, including Coinbase, Robinhood and Charles Schwab, which charge 60 to 95 basis points.
Jed Finn, head of wealth management at Morgan Stanley, said the move was about more than just offering cheaper cryptocurrency trading and was aimed at “disintermediating people,” viewing it as a broader structural shift in how customers access digital assets.
The investment banking giant plans to roll out the service to all 8.6 million ETrade customers later this year.
The latest offering builds on a series of crypto-related initiatives in recent months, including the launch of a Bitcoin exchange-traded fund and plans to launch products related to Ethereum and Solana. Morgan Stanley has also made efforts on the infrastructure front, applying for a national trust banking license that would allow it to directly custody digital assets.
Sources told Bloomberg that the bank is also considering offering services that would allow crypto assets to be converted into exchange-traded products without selling them, and is preparing for potential tokenized stock trading later this year.
These moves will increase competition in the market, with Coinbase expected to generate $3.32 billion in consumer trading revenue by 2025, while Robinhood reported nearly $1 billion in crypto-related revenue.
