Crypto trading is now available on the E*Trade platform, adding to Morgan Stanley’s digital assets drive. The bank is marketing the service as a cheaper alternative to more established retail crypto services.
Bloomberg reports that as part of a trial program, the bank is implementing a 50 basis point fee on transaction value for E*Trade customers. When compared to the 60–95 basis points charged by Coinbase, Robinhood, and Charles Schwab, among other prominent companies, that is a far cheaper cost.
Expanding Digital Assets Strategy
Jed Finn, Head of Wealth Management at Morgan Stanley, said that the initiative’s goal is to disintermediate the disintermediators, rather than just provide cheaper crypto trading. Finn framed this goal as part of a larger structural change in the way customers access digital assets. Later this year, the investment banking behemoth intends to make the service available to all 8.6 million ETrade clients.
The most recent offering is the latest in a slew of crypto-related actions that have taken place in the last few months. These include the establishment of an exchange-traded fund for Bitcoin, as well as products linked to ether and solana. Additionally, Morgan Stanley has taken a step forward in the realm of infrastructure by requesting a national trust bank charter, which would provide it the authority to directly hold digital assets.
In addition to being ready for possible tokenized stock trading later this year, sources told Bloomberg that the bank is considering services that allow crypto holdings to be converted into exchange-traded products without selling.
In a sector where Coinbase made $3.32 billion from customer transactions in 2025 and Robinhood made over $1 billion from crypto-related sales, these actions are expected to increase competition.