Morgan Stanley is moving into the retail crypto market by adding cryptocurrency trading to its E*Trade platform. This shows that traditional financial firms are working harder to gain a bigger share of the fast-growing digital asset industry.
Reports say the bank has started a pilot program that lets users trade cryptocurrencies for a 0.50% fee per trade. This is cheaper than many competitors like Coinbase, Robinhood, and Charles Schwab. The goal is to attract more mainstream investors by making crypto trading cheaper and more familiar.
At first, the service will support Bitcoin, Ether, and Solana, allowing E*Trade customers to own these assets directly instead of through ETFs or funds. The company plans to offer this to all 8.6 million E*Trade users later this year.
Morgan Stanley executives say this move is about more than just lower trading fees. The bank views digital assets as a lasting change in finance and wants to be a leader in that shift. Wealth management head Jed Finn said the goal is to change how investors access crypto products.
The bank is also working on building crypto infrastructure. It has applied for a national trust bank charter so it can directly hold digital assets. It is also looking into tokenized equities and services that could turn crypto holdings into exchange-traded products without making investors sell their coins.
The launch comes as competition between traditional finance firms and crypto exchanges heats up.
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