Morgan Stanley to Launch Crypto Trading on E*Trade via Zerohash in 2026 - Institutional Adoption Accelerates

Wall Street giant Morgan Stanley is bringing crypto trading to the masses through its E*Trade platform—partnering with infrastructure provider Zerohash for a 2026 rollout.

The Institutional On-Ramp

Morgan Stanley's move signals major validation for digital assets. The banking heavyweight isn't dipping toes—it's building infrastructure for mainstream adoption. Zerohash provides the regulatory and technical framework, while E*Trade delivers the massive retail distribution network.

Why This Timing Matters

2026 positions Morgan Stanley ahead of expected regulatory clarity. The strategic timing suggests confidence in crypto's maturation—banks don't make billion-dollar infrastructure bets on fleeting trends. This follows their earlier bitcoin fund offerings for wealthy clients, now expanding to direct trading for retail investors.

The Compliance Advantage

Zerohash's regulatory tech stack solves the compliance hurdles that stalled previous Wall Street crypto initiatives. The partnership demonstrates how traditional finance can embrace digital assets without sacrificing their precious compliance frameworks—finally giving wealth managers something to recommend besides overpriced mutual funds.

Wall Street's crypto hesitation always seemed more about regulatory convenience than actual risk assessment—now they're building the bridges they previously claimed couldn't be engineered.

Finn says Morgan Stanley intends to capture both crypto and tokenized assets

Jed Finn, head of wealth management at the Investment Bank, confirmed that the bank intends to capture cryptocurrency and tokenized versions of assets, including cash, stocks, bonds, and real estate. He explained that tokenized substitutes for cash begin paying interest as soon as they hit the wallet, adding that the rest of the asset classes will follow suit in seeking such efficiency.

🚨 Morgan Stanley's E*Trade to List Digital Assets in 1H26 in Partnership with ZeroHash.$MS Will Also Invest in ZeroHash's $100M Raise Led by $IBKR, at a Reported $1B Valuation. Additional participants include SoFi, Jump, and some Apollo funds. pic.twitter.com/KcytikydvM

— matthew sigel, recovering CFA (@matthew_sigel) September 23, 2025

The partnership with Zerohash follows developments from May, when Morgan Stanley revealed that it was exploring a retail crypto service through E*Trade. Now Zerohash has emerged as the key driver of the bank’s transition towards a complete wallet solution for clients. 

Zerohash, founded by Edward Woodford, has raised $104 million through series D funding, valuing it at $1 billion. Interactive Brokers led the funding round, which was accompanied by Morgan Stanley, Apollo Global Management, SoFi, and Jump Trading’s crypto arm. Zerohash provides backend services to banks and fintech firms, allowing them to offer blockchain-based products in areas such as crypto trading, stablecoins, and tokenized APIs.

According to Finn, E*Trade clients will be able to transact with digital assets directly through their brokerage accounts, providing an easy entry for retail investors. The collaboration positions the bank as a direct competitor to crypto exchanges and brokerage firms offering similar services. One notable brokerage firm with over $10.7 trillion in assets under management that expressed interest in providing similar services is Charles Schwab.

According to a Cryptopolitan report, Charles Schwab revealed in July that it will launch spot Bitcoin and ethereum trading as part of its growth strategy. CEO Rick Wurster confirmed that both BTC and ETH will serve as meaningful drivers for the firm. 

Regulatory shift under Trump spurs brokerage firms to embrace crypto

The collaboration between Zerohash and Morgan Stanley’s E*Trade comes amid a regulatory-friendly environment for crypto projects in the U.S. under President Donald Trump’s pro-crypto policies. The bills passed so far, including the GENEUS Act, have created a clearer path for brokerage firms and other crypto projects to expand their digital asset offerings. 

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) also recently approved generic listing standards for commodity-based trust shares, which aim to improve the speed of approving cryptocurrency ETFs. The rule allows listing exchanges such as NYSE Arca and Cboe BZX to list digital assets without requiring case-by-case approvals, reducing the previously stretched timelines.

According to a Cryptopolitan report, the decision follows the applications for Solana, Litecoin, and Dogecoin spot ETFs, which are in the pipeline for review with deadlines beginning in October. 

The approval of ETFs, particularly Ethereum ETFs and Bitcoin ETFs, fueled the surge in price of ETH and Bitcoin, recording new all-time highs in July. The growth was largely due to institutional inflows through the ETFs. According to SosoValue data, Ethereum ETFs alone have a cumulative net inflow of $13.84 billion with total net assets of $27.52 billion. On the other hand, Bitcoin ETFs have a cumulative net inflow of $57.35 billion, with $148.09 billion, which is 6.5% of the total BTC market cap. 

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