Morgan Stanley to Launch Bitcoin Trading on E*Trade Platform in 2026

Wall Street giant Morgan Stanley prepares to bring Bitcoin trading to millions of E*Trade users—mainstream adoption just got a major boost.

The Institutional Push

Morgan Stanley's move signals deeper institutional acceptance of digital assets. The 2026 rollout gives the firm time to build robust infrastructure while regulators play catch-up.

Platform Integration Strategy

E*Trade's existing brokerage infrastructure will incorporate Bitcoin trading capabilities seamlessly. The integration aims to make crypto access as straightforward as traditional equity trading.

Market Implications

This development potentially opens Bitcoin exposure to millions of retail investors who've been waiting for trusted institutional gateways. Traditional finance finally acknowledges what crypto natives knew years ago.

Because nothing says 'serious asset class' like waiting until 2026 to offer what crypto exchanges have provided since 2012—but hey, Wall Street timing has always been fashionably late to the profit party.

Zerohash partnership enables access

To provide this service, Morgan Stanley is partnering with Zerohash, a Chicago-based digital asset infrastructure provider.

Zerohash will be responsible for custody, liquidity, and settlement of client assets.

The bank has also invested in Zerohash, which recently achieved unicorn status with a $1 billion valuation. Jed Finn, Morgan Stanley’s head of wealth management, shared in a memo:

“We are well underway in preparing to offer crypto trading through a partner model to E-Trade clients in the first half of 2026.”

Expanding digital asset services

Morgan Stanley aims to offer more than just trading.

Executives revealed plans for a wallet solution that WOULD allow the bank to act as custodian for clients’ digital assets.

Finn emphasized the bank’s broader ambitions:

“Offering clients the ability to trade crypto is the tip of the iceberg. We see immense power in the cryptocurrency space, not just with crypto as an investment for our clients, but also around DLT (distributed ledger technology) and tokenization more broadly.”

Shifting strategies among banks

This MOVE highlights a shift from traditional wealth management approaches.

While Robinhood has led with direct bitcoin trading and even acquired Bitstamp, Charles Schwab has opted for ETFs and mutual funds exposure.

Morgan Stanley had previously limited bitcoin exposure to investment funds for high-net-worth clients, but is now expanding access for everyday investors.

Leadership perspectives diverge

Interestingly, Morgan Stanley’s leadership shows differing views on bitcoin.

Recent remarks by the bank’s outgoing chief investment officer, Mike Wilson, highlighted concerns about bitcoin’s volatility as an inflation hedge, while CEO James Gorman has expressed interest in the wider applications of blockchain and has allowed financial advisors to pitch spot bitcoin ETFs to eligible clients.