NEW YORK—Morgan Stanley is preparing to launch cryptocurrency trading for retail clients through its E*Trade division in the first half of 2026, according to Reuters.
The offering will use a partner model with crypto infrastructure firm Zerohash—backed by a Morgan Stanley investment—to handle liquidity, custody, and settlement. At rollout, E*Trade customers will be able to trade bitcoin, ether, and solana, gaining direct ownership of the assets. While that reduces some third-party management fees, it also exposes investors to greater risk.
The bank also intends to expand beyond crypto, giving clients the option to hold tokenized versions of traditional assets such as cash, stocks, bonds, and real estate.