Morgan Stanley has started piloting spot cryptocurrency trading on its E*Trade brokerage platform. The fee is 50 basis points per trade based on dollar value. Only a subset of users can access the feature now, with full rollout to E*Trade's 8.6 million retail clients expected later this year, according to Bloomberg.
Retail investors can now buy and sell digital assets directly within a traditional brokerage interface, bypassing the need for external crypto exchanges.
How Does the 50-Basis-Point Fee Compare?
The pricing places Morgan Stanley between conventional brokerages and crypto-native platforms. Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas noted that Charles Schwab charges roughly 75 basis points for similar access, while bitcoin ETFs trade at around 2 basis points. Direct crypto ownership eliminates expense ratios but introduces custody and execution costs. Balchunas wrote on X: "I still think ETFs are the way bigger cash magnet at least for now." The structure suggests Morgan Stanley is targeting investors who prioritize integration over rock-bottom fees.
Why Retail Crypto Now?
The pilot follows a broader shift in the bank's digital asset strategy. Late last year, Morgan Stanley began allowing up to 4% crypto allocation in high-risk client portfolios. Weeks before the E*Trade launch, it debuted a low-cost spot bitcoin ETF, which pulled in $103 million in net inflows during its first six trading days and now holds over $205 million in assets. Wealth management chief Jed Finn described the initiative as "disintermediating the disintermediators," signaling the bank's intent to embed itself directly into the crypto value chain.
What Comes Next: Tokenized Equities and Stablecoin Fund
Spot trading is only the beginning. Morgan Stanley is building a system that lets clients convert crypto holdings directly into exchange-traded products without first selling. On the institutional side, tokenized equity trading is planned for later this year, expanding beyond cryptocurrencies. The bank also recently launched a stablecoin reserves fund, which invests in cash and short-term U.S. Treasury instruments to maintain a stable net asset value. These moves collectively aim to weave crypto into existing financial plumbing rather than treat it as a stand-alone asset class.