Morgan Stanley is preparing to introduce bitcoin trading to retail investors through its E*Trade platform, marking a significant move among major Wall Street banks into the bitcoin market.
The rollout is planned for the first half of 2026 and will also include other digital assets like ethereum and solana, but Morgan Stanley’s focus remains on bitcoin to meet increasing demand and stay competitive with platforms such as Robinhood and Charles Schwab.
Zerohash partnership enables access
To provide this service, Morgan Stanley is partnering with Zerohash, a Chicago-based digital asset infrastructure provider.
Zerohash will be responsible for custody, liquidity, and settlement of client assets.
The bank has also invested in Zerohash, which recently achieved unicorn status with a $1 billion valuation. Jed Finn, Morgan Stanley’s head of wealth management, shared 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.”
Expanding digital asset services
Morgan Stanley aims to offer more than just trading.
Executives revealed plans for a wallet solution that would allow the bank to act as custodian for clients’ digital assets.
Finn emphasized the bank’s broader ambitions:
“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 DLT (distributed ledger technology) and tokenization more broadly.”
Shifting strategies among banks
This move highlights a shift from traditional wealth management approaches.
While Robinhood has led with direct bitcoin trading and even acquired Bitstamp, Charles Schwab has opted for ETFs and mutual funds exposure.
Morgan Stanley had previously limited bitcoin exposure to investment funds for high-net-worth clients, but is now expanding access for everyday investors.
Leadership perspectives diverge
Interestingly, Morgan Stanley’s leadership shows differing views on bitcoin.
Recent remarks by the bank’s outgoing chief investment officer, Mike Wilson, highlighted concerns about bitcoin’s volatility as an inflation hedge, while CEO James Gorman has expressed interest in the wider applications of blockchain and has allowed financial advisors to pitch spot bitcoin ETFs to eligible clients.
