Bitcoin briefly surges past $97K as Wall Street giants Morgan Stanley and Charles Schwab jump into crypto trading
Wall Street’s latest gold rush? Bitcoin briefly punched through $97,000 today as two financial behemoths—Morgan Stanley and Charles Schwab—announced plans to offer crypto trading to clients. The move signals institutional adoption is accelerating, even as regulators scramble to keep up.
Mainstream money meets digital assets: After years of dismissing crypto as a ’fraud’ (thanks, Jamie Dimon), traditional finance is now elbowing its way into the space. Expect more volatility—and more ironic hedge fund tweets about decentralization.
The cynical take: Nothing boosts adoption like the scent of fresh fees. Welcome to the era of ’your dad’s Bitcoin wallet’—coming soon to a 401(k) near you.
Bitcoin shortly reclaimed $97K as Wall Street companies eye crypto trading
Morgan Stanley is allegedly seeking to begin offering crypto trading on its E*Trade platform, according to a report from Bloomberg.
The report stated that the launch may involve partnerships with established crypto firms to support trading assets like Bitcoin and Ether. It is also reportedly seeking to begin the process next year. The plan would allow Morgan Stanley’s E*Trade retail clients to buy and sell crypto assets directly from their existing brokerage accounts.
Morgan Stanley already offers crypto-linked ETFs trading for products such as BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) and Fidelity’s Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC) to high-net-worth clients through its wealth management division.
Charles Schwab is also planning to begin spot crypto trading on its platform, according to a statement from the firm’s CEO, Rick Wurster, during its earnings call. Wurster suggested that the company has been considering opening its doors to crypto trading for some time, but will kick off once crypto regulations are properly set. He hinted at a huge possibility for the firm to begin within the next 12 months.
Wurster also stated that crypto investing carries "meaningful risks," notably extreme price volatility, which makes it challenging for investors to determine appropriate allocation strategies.
Meanwhile, Strategy released its Q1 report, stating that it held 553,555 BTC as of April 28, which it acquired at a total cost of $37.9 billion for an average price of $68,459 per BTC. The company also revealed that it made a 13.7% BTC yield in Q1 despite the market downturn in February and March.
As a result, Strategy has increased its Bitcoin yield and dollar gains target for 2025, raising them from 15% to 25% and from $10 billion to $15 billion, respectively. This change comes after the company announced a new $21 billion at-the-market (ATM) equity offering, which may be used to expand its Bitcoin holdings.
BTC briefly rallied above $97,000 within the past 24 hours, pushing prices closer to the $100,000 threshold before dropping back to the $96,000 range at publication time.
