Banking giant Morgan Stanley reportedly plans to introduce crypto trading on E*Trade

Catherine McGrath

<a href="https://fortune.com/company/morgan-stanley/" target="_blank">Morgan Stanley</a>, one of the world’s largest investment banks, plans to introduce crypto trading on its consumer platform in the latest move by a traditional financial institution to capitalize on President Donald Trump’s <a href="https://fortune.com/crypto/2025/04/08/doj-ncet-disbands-memo-todd-blanche-trump/">deregulation</a> of the crypto industry.<div class="paywall-selector"></div><div class="paywall">



The<a href="https://fortune.com/2025/04/11/jpmorgan-chase-wells-fargo-morgan-stanley-earnings-tariffs-jamie-dimon-donald-trump/"> banking giant</a> plans to allow its customers to buy and sell crypto on its subsidiary, <a href="https://fortune.com/crypto/2024/06/04/etrade-roaring-kitty-meme-stocks/">E*Trade</a>, starting sometime next year, according to a Bloomberg <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-05-01/morgan-stanley-plans-to-offer-crypto-trading-to-e-trade-clients">report</a>, citing “people familiar with the matter.” In order to establish and maintain the complex mechanisms needed to trade crypto, the company is reportedly considering partnering with one or more established crypto firms, according to the report.&nbsp;



Morgan Stanley declined to comment when contacted by Fortune. E*Trade did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fortune. 



E*Trade, <a href="https://fortune.com/2020/02/20/morgan-stanley-buy-etrade-brokerage-consolidation/">acquired</a> by Morgan Stanley in 2020 for $13 billion, is a trading platform that offers stocks, options, and other assets. It currently has more than 5 million users who have access to Bitcoin and Ethereum in the form of exchange-traded funds—assets traded on the stock market that track the price of the cryptocurrencies—but cannot directly invest in the digital assets. 



If Morgan Stanley makes good on its reported crypto ambitions, it would be entering a crowded field, facing competition from popular crypto trading platforms like Robinhood and <a href="https://fortune.com/company/coinbase/" target="_blank">Coinbase</a>.&nbsp;



Reported interest from Morgan Stanley in becoming more involved in crypto trading comes on the heels of a Federal Reserve <a href="https://www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/pressreleases/bcreg20250424a.htm">announcement</a> last week that it was rescinding guidance from 2022 and 2023 that urged banks to exercise caution when dealing with cryptocurrencies and related activities. In the same breath, the Fed said that it would “consider whether additional guidance to support innovation, including crypto-asset activities, is appropriate.”



President Donald Trump has made his pro-crypto stance clear, <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/fact-sheets/2025/03/fact-sheet-president-donald-j-trump-establishes-the-strategic-bitcoin-reserve-and-u-s-digital-asset-stockpile/">promising</a> to make America “the crypto capital of the world.” Within his first 100 days in office, the president has reversed many of the crypto-related enforcement actions that took place under the Biden administration, established a national Bitcoin reserve, and supported the development of a regulatory framework for the industry. 



Several traditional finance companies have already taken advantage of the shifting regulatory landscape in the U.S. <a href="https://fortune.com/company/fidelity-investments/" target="_blank">Fidelity Investments</a> announced that it had begun testing its own stablecoin in March. Additionally, in February <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SlzZK43CmxY&amp;t=2243s">Bank of America’s CEO</a> Brian Moynihan expressed interest in entering the stablecoin market once a regulatory framework is passed by lawmakers.&nbsp;&nbsp;</div>

Morgan Stanley, Bank of America, and Fidelity have expressed interest in crypto since Trump took office.


Morgan Stanley reportedly plans to introduce crypto trading to E*Trade customers

Learn more about all things crypto with short, easy-to-read lesson cards. Click here for <a href="https://fortune.com/crypto/crash-course/">Fortune's Crypto Crash Course</a>.

F-BreakingNews

Morgan Stanley

Companies

The bank is entering a crowded field with competitors like Coinbase and Robinhood.


Morgan Stanley reportedly plans to introduce crypto trading to E*Trade customers | Fortune Crypto

Some Fortune Crypto pricing data is provided by Binance.

/crypto/2025/05/01/morgan-stanley-reportedly-plans-crypto-trading-etrade/

Ben Weiss

Remember MoviePass? It’s still around—and going all in on crypto

/crypto/2025/05/01/moviepass-crypto-mogul-sui-animoca-stacy-spikes/

Leo Schwartz

Exclusive: Crypto venture firm dao5 closes $222 million second fund after investments in Berachain and Bittensor

/crypto/2025/05/01/dao5-crypto-venture-capital-tekin-salimi-polychain-berachain-funding/

Exclusive: Tokenized asset company Dinari raises $12.7 million from Hack VC and Blockchange Ventures

/crypto/2025/05/01/exclusive-tokenized-asset-company-dinari-raises-12-7-million-from-hack-vc-and-blockchange-ventures/

Sam Altman speaks on stage in Paris, France, in February.

Americans can finally scan their eyeballs for crypto in return after Sam Altman-backed World launches in U.S.

/crypto/2025/04/30/worldcoin-world-sam-altman-united-states-launch/

Robinhood CEO says firm is diversifying away from volatile crypto revenue even as Q1 earnings beat expectations

/crypto/2025/04/30/robinhood-ceo-diversifying-crypto-revenue-q1-earnings/

Fortune Editors

Fortune Crypto provides smart and timely news about Bitcoin, Ethereum and how startups and big companies are using blockchain to transform finance and investing.

Daily News, Analysis &amp; Price Data on Bitcoin, Ethereum &amp; More

Uncategorized

homepage

Fortune Crypto

NFTs & Culture

Regulators

Latest News, Analysis, Insights &amp; Price Data on Cryptocurrencies

The Coins

https://fortune.com/crypto/2025/04/30/robinhood-ceo-diversifying-crypto-revenue-q1-earnings/?itm_source=parsely-api

https://fortune.com/crypto/2025/05/01/dao5-crypto-venture-capital-tekin-salimi-polychain-berachain-funding/?itm_source=parsely-api

Jeff John Roberts

Visa launches stablecoin payments in Latin America in major advance for crypto

https://fortune.com/crypto/2025/04/30/visa-launches-stablecoin-payments-in-latin-america-in-major-advance-for-crypto/?itm_source=parsely-api

Exclusive: Stablecoin company Zar raises $7 million in round led by Dragonfly Capital, Andreessen Horowitz and VanEck Ventures

https://fortune.com/crypto/2025/04/30/stablecoin-zar-raises-7-million-dragonfly-capital-andreessen-horowitz-vaneck-ventures/?itm_source=parsely-api

https://fortune.com/crypto/2025/04/30/worldcoin-world-sam-altman-united-states-launch/?itm_source=parsely-api

https://fortune.com/crypto/2025/05/01/exclusive-tokenized-asset-company-dinari-raises-12-7-million-from-hack-vc-and-blockchange-ventures/?itm_source=parsely-api