Morgan Stanley to Offer Crypto Trading Next Year

Key Highlights

• Morgan Stanley unveiled its plan to enable cryptocurrency trading for clients of its E*Trade platform beginning in the first half of 2026. 
• Initially, it will include major cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana

One of America’s largest banks, Morgan Stanley, has announced plans to allow its customers to buy and sell digital assets directly through their investment accounts.

Morgan Stanley, a leading global financial institution managing over $1.7 trillion in assets, revealed on September 23, that it will enable cryptocurrency trading for clients of its E*Trade platform beginning in the first half of 2026. 

JUST IN: $1.3 trillion Morgan Stanley to let E*Trade clients trade #Bitcoin in the first half of next year 🚀 pic.twitter.com/uwUsaKTuc1

— Bitcoin Magazine (@BitcoinMagazine) September 23, 2025

The service will initially support Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana, with potential expansions to other digital assets in the future. 

This initiative will allow E*Trade’s more than 5 million users to trade cryptocurrencies alongside traditional investments like stocks and exchange-traded funds within the same platform.

The bank will partner with Zerohash to handle technical aspects, including security, transaction processing, and digital asset storage. Zerohash is a specialized cryptocurrency infrastructure company. 

This partnership comes after Morgan Stanley’s previous cautious steps into the cryptocurrency space, including allowing wealthy clients to invest in Bitcoin ETFs starting in 2024. 

The new service represents a major expansion of the bank’s digital asset offerings to include retail investors.

Jed Finn, head of wealth management at Morgan Stanley, described the move as responding to growing client interest in digital assets. “Offering clients the ability to trade crypto is the tip of the iceberg,” Finn stated. “We see immense power in the crypto currency space, not just with crypto as an investment for our clients, but also around DLT and tokenization more broadly.”

“The underlying technology has been proven and blockchain-based infrastructure is obviously here to stay. Clients should have access to digitized assets, traditional assets and cryptocurrencies, all in the same ecosystem that they’re used to,” Finn said.

Morgan Stanley’s Crypto Expansion Amid Latest Trend of Crypto Adoption

The decision shows increasing competition among financial institutions to provide cryptocurrency services. Other trading platforms like Robinhood have offered crypto trading for years, while traditional brokerage firms have been slower to adopt these features. 

Morgan Stanley’s acquisition of E*Trade in 2020 positioned the bank to serve retail investors more directly, and the addition of cryptocurrency trading shows a strategic effort to remain competitive in the evolving financial landscape.

The announcement comes during a period of regulatory changes that have made banks more comfortable offering cryptocurrency services.

The current administration has implemented policies supportive of digital assets, including clearer guidelines for stablecoins and other cryptocurrency products. 

These developments have encouraged traditional financial institutions to explore how they can participate in the growing digital asset ecosystem.

Morgan Stanley’s move is part of a broader trend of traditional banks embracing cryptocurrency services. Several major financial institutions worldwide are developing their own digital asset offerings, including custody services for institutional clients and trading capabilities for retail investors. 

In Europe, Spain’s Banco Santander recently launched cryptocurrency trading through its Openbank platform in Germany, with plans to expand to other markets.

The integration of cryptocurrency trading into established financial platforms like E*Trade makes digital assets more accessible to everyday investors who may be uncomfortable using specialized cryptocurrency exchanges. 

By offering these services through familiar interfaces with existing customer relationships, banks can provide an additional layer of trust and security for investors new to digital assets.

Industry analysts suggest that as more major financial institutions enter the cryptocurrency space, it could lead to increased market stability and broader adoption. 

However, they also caution that cryptocurrencies remain volatile investments, and investors should understand the risks involved. Banks offering these services will need to provide appropriate education and risk disclosures to help customers make informed decisions.

The gradual acceptance of cryptocurrencies by traditional financial institutions represents a significant evolution in how digital assets are perceived. 

What began as niche investments primarily traded on specialized platforms is increasingly becoming part of diversified investment portfolios managed through conventional financial channels. 

This transition could potentially bring new stability and legitimacy to the cryptocurrency markets while providing investors with more options for portfolio diversification.