Morgan Stanley Launches E*TRADE Crypto Trading Pilot

Morgan Stanley has launched a pilot program for cryptocurrency trading on its E*TRADE platform, offering access to bitcoin, ether and solana at a fee of 50 basis points per transaction, lower than several major competitors.

The service, which began with a limited group of users, is set to expand to E*TRADE's full base of 8.6 million clients later this year. Transactions are processed through a partnership with Zerohash, a digital asset infrastructure provider in which Morgan Stanley holds a stake. The flat 0.50 percent fee on the dollar value of each trade positions the offering below standard retail rates at platforms such as Coinbase, where fees can exceed 0.60 percent depending on the tier, Robinhood, with effective spreads often reaching 0.95 percent, and Charles Schwab, which charges 0.75 percent on its recently introduced spot bitcoin and ether trading.

Morgan Stanley confirmed the details of the pilot and its pricing structure. The platform integrates crypto trading directly into existing brokerage accounts alongside stocks and exchange-traded funds, without support for margin or derivatives at launch.

Jed Finn, head of wealth management at Morgan Stanley, described the...