Morgan Stanley to Offer Bitcoin Trading on E*Trade in 2026
Morgan Stanley is preparing to enter the Bitcoin market in a big way. The bank will let retail clients trade digital assets like Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana through its E*Trade platform. This service is expected to launch in the first half of 2026.
The digital assets market is now worth nearly $4 trillion. Bitcoin alone is valued at over $2.3 trillion. By offering crypto trading, Morgan Stanley aims to meet growing client demand and compete with other platforms like Robinhood and Charles Schwab.
Partnership with Zerohash
Morgan Stanley is working with Zerohash, a company based in Chicago that provides digital asset infrastructure. Zerohash will manage liquidity, custody, and settlement for the crypto trades. Morgan Stanley has also invested in Zerohash.
Jed Finn, Morgan Stanley’s head of wealth management, said in a memo, “We are well underway in preparing to offer crypto trading through a partner model to E*Trade clients in the first half of 2026.”
Zerohash recently became a “unicorn” by raising $104 million at a $1 billion valuation. The funding round was led by Interactive Brokers, with Morgan Stanley as an investor.
More Than Just Trading
Morgan Stanley plans to do more than just offer crypto trading. The bank is also developing a wallet solution. This will allow Morgan Stanley to hold and protect clients’ digital assets.
Finn added, “Offering clients the ability to trade crypto is the tip of the iceberg. We see immense power in the cryptocurrency space, not just with crypto as an investment for our clients, but also around distributed ledger technology (DLT) and tokenization more broadly.”
Growing Interest in Retail Crypto Trading
In the past, big banks mostly offered digital assets to wealthy clients through investment funds. Now, many are opening crypto trading to everyday investors.
Robinhood has been a leader in this area. It earns a lot of money from digital asset trading and recently bought the Bitstamp exchange for $200 million. Charles Schwab has taken a slower approach, offering crypto exposure through ETFs and mutual funds.
Morgan Stanley’s Strategy
Morgan Stanley bought E*Trade in 2020 for $13 billion. E*Trade has over 5 million users, mostly retail investors. Adding crypto trading to this platform could help Morgan Stanley grow in the digital asset market.
Interestingly, Morgan Stanley’s former chief investment officer, Mike Wilson, prefers gold over Bitcoin. He said Bitcoin is too volatile to be a good hedge against inflation. However, the bank’s leadership is taking a different path.
CEO James Gorman said Morgan Stanley is exploring Bitcoin trading and the wider uses of blockchain technology. The bank has also allowed its financial advisors to recommend spot Bitcoin ETFs to eligible clients.
Conclusion
Morgan Stanley’s move to offer Bitcoin and other digital assets on E*Trade marks a major step for Wall Street. It shows how big banks are embracing crypto to serve more investors. The launch in 2026 will give retail clients easier access to digital assets through a trusted financial firm.
